How Does It Feel?
by pale rose fire
Summary: Kuroko was found beaten and unconscious, hanging by his wrists from a basketball hoop in Kaijou's gym with a message cut into his chest and stomach: HEY GENERATION OF MIRACLES. HOW DOES IT FEEL? The GoM are determined to find who hurt him and make them pay, but along the way must face the mistakes they made in middle school, and realize the pain their actions caused others.
1. Chapter 1

If Kasamatsu hadn't been feeling nostalgic, things would have gone a whole different way. He had officially retired from the Kaijou's basketball club, after leading his team to fourth place at Winter Cup. It was a bit sad, but he would play again. Just not with his current team. He'd already been scouted by a good college. But he was still a little sad and restless. That's why he went to Kaijou's gym on the Saturday morning a week after Winter Cup ended. All he wanted was to practice there one more time, even if it was just by himself.

He knew something was wrong before he even opened the door. The broken lock was a bit of a giveaway. And the smear of blood on the door handle was rather ominous. Kasamatsu scowled and wondered if he should go get someone else, or let the police know, but he really didn't know what he was dealing with, or what to tell the police. And suppose he was wrong and this wasn't as incriminating as the evidence was first making it appear? What if this was just an accident and someone inside was hurt?

That decided it for him. He kicked the door wide open and went right in, shouting, "Who's here?"

That was when he saw Kuroko Tetsuya hanging from the basketball hoop by his wrists, his skin painted with bruises, and his clothes literally shredded.

"Shit! Kuroko!" Kasamatsu looked around quickly making sure that no one was laying in wait to ambush him before rushing to help the freshman. "Somebody help!"

But nobody came to help. No one else was there, so it was left to Kasamatsu to help the boy.

It took longer to get Kuroko down that Kasamatsu would have liked. He had to get scissors and a chair from the supplies room because he wasn't tall enough, and the knots were tied too tight. But he sprinted to get them as fast as he could, and soon enough had cut the small shadow down and was holding him in his arms.

"Kuroko? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Kasamatsu had just took Kuroko's wrist to check his pulse when he heard the boy groan. "Thank goodness. Kuroko? Are you awake?"

Kuroko's eyelids twitched a little, then his face went still again. Not truly conscious then, Kasamatsu realized. But alive.

He forced his panicking mind to slow down and figure out what to do next. The answer came to him quickly and he pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance. Then he ran and got a first aid kit to try to do what he could for Kuroko before the ambulance arrived.

The boy was bleeding from numerous cuts, some of them pretty bad. His shirt was literally soaked in blood. No major veins seemed to be damaged, but the sheer number of cuts was disheartening. Sickening even.

Especially when Kasamatsu took off Kuroko's shirt. Then he saw that a message had been carved into Kuroko's skin, using his chest and stomach as a canvas.

HEY GENERATION OF MIRACLES

HOW DOES IT FEEL?

"What kind of sick fuck does this?" growled Kasamatsu as he set about cleaning Kuroko's cuts. He kind of hoped that the pain of the antiseptic would wake Kuroko, or get another response from him. It was scary seeing Kuroko like that, that pale, missing so much blood. And there was a large bloody spot on the side of his head that worried Kasamatsu. Even though he would be in a lot of pain, Kasamatsu thought that it would be better if he was conscious. "Kuroko? Can you hear me?"

But Kuroko didn't wake, or even groan again.

"Damn it. When I find out who did this to you . . ." Kasamatsu stopped there. As much as he wanted to pummel anyone who would do this to any kid and turn their face into hamburger, he knew that he'd get shoved out of line before he got anywhere near the bastard, because of the fact that this torture had been done to _this_ kid. The Generation of Miracles and Seirin's team would be at each others' throats for the privilege. But maybe while they were distracted fighting each other . . . no, Kasamatsu realized. Seirin had that eagle eye guy. And Midorima had his hawk eyed sidekick. Not to mention the emperor eyed redhead. Between the three of them, no one was going to get a chance to sneak attack the bastard who did this. Kasamatsu decided to settle for doing what he could to help Kuroko now, and had to be satisfied knowing that whoever did this to the little shadow would get it back seven times worse, at least.

He heard the ambulance sirens right as he'd finished bandaging Kuroko's chest. So he carefully lifted the boy and carried him outside so that the paramedics wouldn't waste time trying to find them. Kasamatsu was small as far as basketball players went, but Kuroko was tiny too light. Kasamatsu had a bad feeling that blood loss might be partly responsible for the latter. He handed Kuroko over to the paramedics, who put him on a stretcher and began checking him over. After he told them what happened, and while the paramedics were calling the police, Kasamatsu stepped aside and made another call, that he probably should have made earlier, if he hadn't been busy patching up Kuroko.

Kise picked up immediately. "Kasamatsu-sempai! Hi! Hello! How are you? I'm surprised you're calling me! But happy! Do you want to do something today? I'm not doing anything. Are you –"

"Kise, shut up, or I'll hit you," Kasamatsu ordered.

"So mean!"

"I'm serious –"

"I know you are! You're seriously mean!"

_"Kise, shut up!"_

Kise was startled into silence at Kasamatsu's particularly vehement tone. He'd been shouted at by his sempai a lot, but never in that tone. Right now Kasamatsu was clearly furious in a way Kise had never seen or heard him before, and he didn't know quite how to deal with that.

"Sempai?" he asked when Kasamatsu didn't speak for several seconds. "What's wrong?"

Kasamatsu only realized now that he didn't have a clue in hell how he was supposed to break this news to Kise. _Hey, kouhai, guess what? Someone's got a grudge against you and your old teammates so they took it out on your most vulnerable little friend, and carved a message for you on his torso! _Nope. That would not go over well. But who was he kidding? Any way he phrased it wouldn't go over well. Nor would it change the facts or what had happened.

"Kise . . . I'm sorry . . ."

"Sempai, are you alright?" asked Kise.

No, Kasamatsu was not alright, thank you very much. He'd just found a kid who'd been beaten to hell and back hanging from a basketball hoop! And said kid had yet to regain consciousness. He was not going to be alright until he knew that Kuroko was going to be alright, and until he'd washed Kuroko's blood off his hands and clothes. If the blood would even come out of his clothes!

"Kise, it's Kuroko," Kasamatsu managed to say. "He's hurt."

"Kurokocchi's hurt?" Instead of turning on the water works as per usual, Kise seemed to realize this was far too serious for mellowdrama. "How badly? What happened? Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know." That one answer worked for all three questions, but Kasamatsu knew he couldn't leave it at that. "He doesn't look good. The paramedics are about to take him to the hospital. I'm going with him."

"But what happened?" cried Kise, distress heavy in his voice.

"He got beat up, okay?" shouted Kasamatsu. "I don't know who did it, he was unconscious when I found him. Just . . . call your Miracle buddies and tell them. And call Seirin too."

"I'll meet you at the hospital." Kise's voice was oddly cold.

"Alright. Good. I'll see you there."

* * *

Akashi scowled when he saw the name displayed on his phone's screen. He was still coping with the consequences of Winter Cup. Namely licking his wounds and adjusting to the jarring effects that it had on his personalities. While he definitely felt better and more human than he had in a very long while, he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with Kise so soon.

Still, he answered. On the off chance that it was something important, he couldn't afford to miss it. And he ended up being glad that he did.

"Akashi."

"Ryouta?" Akashi was surprised. Kise had dropped the –cchi suffix and his voice was cold as ice. Akashi had never heard him sound so furious before. For a moment he started to worry that he was the target of Kise's anger. "What is it?"

"Kurokocchi's hurt. Bad."

"What happened?" It was hard for Akashi to keep his voice steady but he managed to only just.

"Someone hurt him. He was beaten, badly. I don't know the details. Kasamatsu found him and is taking him to the Kanegawa Hospital. He's unconscious." Kise sounded like he was grounding his teeth in anger as he spoke. "I'm heading there now. Can you call the others?"

"Of course." Some of them, Akashi and Kise both knew, probably wouldn't answer Kise's call, expecting it to be for something frivolous and annoying. Akashi was glad that he hadn't given in to the temptation just to ignore it today.

"I'll call Kagamicchi. He can tell Seirin."

"He could, but he probably won't," Akashi pointed out. "Taiga is a hothead. After I call Daiki, Atsushi, Shintaro, and Satsuki, I'll also contact Aida-san."

"Who?" asked Kise impatiently.

"Seirin's coach."

"Fine," Kise growled.

"I'll see you at the hospital, Ryouta."

"I'll call you if he gets discharged before you arrive, Akashicchi."

It was the shortest, coldest conversation he'd ever had with Kise. Akashi didn't enjoy it one bit. Now he could only wish that Kise had been calling for something frivolous and trivial.

He hadn't said much about Kuroko's condition. Akashi knew that was because he hadn't known much. Just that Kuroko was hurt bad. And it was apparent that Kise was furious about not knowing who dared to hurt their shadow. A fury that Akashi could sympathize with. But he would control his anger for the time being. When the time came to unleash it, he would show no mercy.

Aomine picked up his call on the third ring.

"Eh, Akashi? What's going on? I'm practicing."

Aomine practicing. How things had changed, Akashi mused. Then he mentally corrected himself. How things had changed since Kuroko came back into their lives.

"I'm afraid that your practice must be put on hold, Daiki," said Akashi. "You are to go to the Kanegawa hospital and –"

"What? Is Kise alright?"

"Ryouta is fine. Tetsuya, however, is hurt."

"What? What happened?" demanded Aomine.

"We do not know yet. Ryouta only said that someone hurt Tetsuya. He does not know who."

"Why the hell doesn't he know? Who the hell would hurt Tetsu?" shouted Aomine. "I am going to fucking kill them!"

"Control yourself, Daiki."

"Someone hurt my best friend and you want me to stay calm! Fuck that –"

"Do you believe that you are of any use to Tetsuya when you are so enraged that you can't think straight, Daiki?" asked Akashi raising his voice.

"I –"

"You will collect Satsuki and meet Kise and Shintaro at Kanegawa hospital. Atsushi and I will join you as quickly as we can. Do you understand?"

"Yes," said Aomine. He didn't sound happy about it at all.

"Good. I'll see you soon."

Akashi called Midorima next. The sharpshooter's cool anger was a nice change from Aomine's furious inferno of rage. Midorima knew what had to be done, and what had to be left for later, but it was very clear that he was just as furious as Akashi and Aomine. As the call ended, he was shouting for Takao to come pull his rickshaw.

When Akashi first told Murasakibara, he thought that their call had been disconnected, because he was only met with silence at first. Then Murasakibara gave a feral scream and the sound of something breaking was heard.

"Atsushi, what are you doing?" That was Himuro. Then suddenly Akashi found himself talking to the returnee. "Hello, who is this?"

"This is Akashi. Please put Atsushi back on."

"I'm sorry, but . . . he's destroying the bleachers. Can I take a message? Actually, can I ask what is going on that's put him in this sort of state?" Himuro asked.

Akashi considered refusing but decided not to. He could use this Himuro Tatsuya after all. Murasakibara did need someone to keep him in line. Himuro would be useful in bringing him to Kanegawa. He filled Himuro in on the situation.

"Kuroko is Taiga's friend, isn't he?" asked Himuro when Akashi was done.

"He is. So. Will you escort Atsushi to Kanegawa Hospital?"

"Of course. We'll leave immediately."

Aida Riko was the last person Akashi had to call before leaving. Understandably she was distraught by what little news Akashi had for her, and immediately promised let the rest of her team know and organize them to get to Kanegawa. Not that Akashi particularly cared whether they came or not. He would almost prefer they not come, as they would only crowd the waiting room. But their absence would make them bad friends, and Kuroko would be hurt if he found out they did not come. So perhaps it was for the best that they were going.

Finally, Akashi was free to make travel arrangements for himself. As soon as he finished procuring himself a bullet train ticket, he immediately contacted one of the private detectives that his family had used for various matters in the past, as well as one of his lawyers. He would find who had hurt his friend. And then he would ruin them in every way possible.

* * *

So, what do you think? Any requests for what to have happen? Please review and let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you everyone who reviewed: NeitherSaneNorInsane, xDarkxKurokox, BrokenWings2602, seijuro407, Heaven0Leigh, ruda102, Another observer of the world, SinJaLOVE, LovER, silverwolf027, AokazuSei, MusicIsaDrug18, Zedax, kiseki tatsune1595, and one Guest!

* * *

Kasamatsu kept vigil in the waiting room, anxious for news of Kuroko's condition. It was ironic, he thought, how being the one to find Kuroko like that suddenly made him, I don't know, involved. He barely knew Kuroko. He'd never discussed anything that wasn't basketball related with him. (And Kise counted as basketball related.) He'd always been annoyed when Kise brought Kuroko up when they were trying to talk about other members of the Generation of Miracles. That wasn't to say he disliked Kuroko or anything. He had always liked the kid well enough. All of Seirin, really. He just hadn't known him very well. So if he'd just heard that something bad had happened to Kuroko, he would have been a little worried, but not overly so. But finding him like that . . . it was like Kasamatsu's heart had been put in a vice. It made him feel responsible for making sure Kuroko was going to be alright.

Really, who the hell could do something like that to a little boy? Kuroko was a child for God's sake, only just out of middle school. Who the hell could beat a child so badly that he looked like his skin was painted with bruises, carve a message into his stomach, and leave him hanging by his wrists from a basketball hoop? And why?

HEY GENERATION OF MIRACLES

HOW DOES IT FEEL?

Thinking about that grotesque message and the way it was delivered made Kasamatsu feel sickened. Okay, so the why part was half way covered. Whoever did this had some kind of grudge against the Generation of Miracles. That even explained why he'd found Kuroko hanging in Kaijou's gym. He'd been left there for Kise to find, or at least find out about. But what kind of a grudge was so bad that you had to find a friend of the people you wanted to hurt, and hurt that kid, beating him into unconsciousness and then mutilating him?

More than that, Kasamatsu learned when the police questioned him about how he'd found Kuroko that it was a damn good thing he'd been feeling nostalgic. If Kuroko had been left hanging there over the weekend then by the time anyone found him he would have been dead. He's lost too much blood and his head wound was really bad. Even now they were worried about brain damage.

"Sempai!"

"Huh?" Kasamatsu looked up. "Oh. Kise."

"What happened?" cried Kise, stumbling to a stop in front of him. Kasamatsu had never seen Kise look so unkempt before. Even after some basketball practices from hell and intense games, Kise's hair had never been so messed up. But it was more than just disheveledness that made him look out of sorts now. His skin was pale and his jaw was clenched with worry, and his eyes were feverish. "How's Kurokocchi?"

"He's got a pretty bad concussion, and some broken bones," Kasamatsu said. "The doctors are working on him now."

"Who did this to him? And why?" demanded Kise.

"I don't know, alright? I told the police the same thing already," shouted Kasamatsu. "I just found him, I had nothing to do with him ending up there!"

Kise froze at Kasamatsu's shout. "Sempai . . ."

Kasamatsu was disgusted to realize that he was trembling. The memory of that kid just hanging there, so close to death . . . it got to him. And he still had Kuroko's blood all over him. He'd washed it off his hands, yeah, but his clothes were still stained. And it felt like he hadn't washed his hands well enough. When he stared at them full on he didn't see any blood, but out of the corners of his eyes when he wasn't looking closely it was like he could still see smudges. Seven trips to the washroom hadn't gotten it all off yet. And yeah, he knew part of it was in his head, but he couldn't help it. It was bothering him so much. It would probably keep bothering him until he knew for sure Kuroko was going to be alright. Probably after.

Suddenly a clean shirt was held out to him. Kasamatsu looked up to see that it was Kise offering it to him.

"I was buying some new clothes when I got your call," said Kise. "You should change, sempai. You'll feel better."

"Yeah."

Kasamatsu went to the bathroom to wash his hands again, then used some wet paper towels to get the blood that had soaked through his own shirt off his skin before putting on the shirt Kise had given to him. It was a white button down dress shirt with a collar, in the size Kise wore, so it was a little big on him. But it was better than his own bloodstained shirt. Kasamatsu wanted to throw it away, but thought maybe he shouldn't. He wasn't sure if it could be considered evidence or something, and he didn't want to do anything that might make him look suspicious. If the police were wasting time looking into him as a suspect then the bastard who did this might get away. So Kasamatsu folded his shirt so that the blood smears on it weren't showing and took it back to the waiting room.

"You alright?" Kise asked when he returned.

"Yeah. I'm . . . Yeah."

"Please tell me everything you know, Kasamatsu-sempai," said Kise.

And so Kasamatsu did. Mostly. He left out the part about the message carved into Kuroko's stomach. He felt too sick just thinking about it, and didn't want to talk about that more than he had to. Plus he knew that it would only hurt Kise. Kise would find out eventually, but Kasamatsu couldn't stand to put him in more pain at that moment. He'd seen enough pain already.

"The police weren't able to get in touch with Kuroko's parents," said Kasamatsu when he finished telling Kise everything else he knew. "Do you know how to get hold of them?"

"Kurokocchi's parents work abroad," said Kise. "He lives alone. Kasamatsu-sempai . . . thank God you found him. No one would have known he was even missing until the weekend was over."

Kasamatsu stared down at his hands and felt the urge to wash them again. He fought it down. He didn't want to look like he couldn't keep it together. Not in front of his kouhai.

"I don't think I've ever been this angry before," said Kise after they sat in silence for several minutes.

"Oh?"

"Kurokocchi's my best friend," said Kise, in a more somber tone than Kasamatsu ever heard him use before. "I know he's closer to Kagamicchi and Aominecchi than he is to me, so I know I'm not his best friend. But he's mine. I haven't always been a good friend but . . . when I accidentally hurt him in that practice game, I wished it had been me that got hurt instead, not him. I wish the same thing now. He's my very precious friend. I don't want him to be hurt. I don't want him to be in pain."

And whoever targeted him probably knew that, Kasamatsu thought grimly. "Do you think the other Generation of Miracles feel the same?"

"Yes. Kurokocchi's special to all of us. He was our heart back in Teiko. He was the best of us. We were really horrible to him. But he was still always there for us. He saved us when we didn't even know we needed to be saved. I think you know what I'm talking about?" Kise asked.

"Yeah." Kasamatsu had seen what the Generation of Miracles were once like. Hell, he remembered what Kise had been like at the start. He heard through the grape vine they were all like that, skipping practices, looking down on everyone, being difficult in general, and causing problems for everyone. Some of the things he heard made him realize he'd gotten off lucky with Kise. And the stories he'd heard about the things they did during games while they were at Teiko disgusted him. He knew all about their last championship match. If he'd been given a choice, back at the beginning, he wouldn't have let Kise join the team. In hindsight he saw that attitude would have been a mistake. Kise had changed since he joined. Kuroko had been the biggest catalyst. And Kasamatsu was sure now that changing Kise and the others had been Kuroko's goal all along. He'd wanted to drag them off their high horses before they fell off and got trampled.

It was easy for someone who knew them to see why someone with a grudge against the Generation of Miracles targeted Kuroko. Kasamatsu doubted there was any way to better hurt them than to hurt Kuroko.

The question was: Who else knew that? And who amongst that group was enough of a monster to actually carry through with it?

* * *

The next wave of Kuroko's friends arrived in a whirlwind. Aomine, and Midorima both made it there at the same time demanding answers. With them were a sobbing Momoi and a subdued Takao. Kasamatsu had only just finished filling them in when the entire Seirin team arrived, and Kasamatsu had to go over it again.

Their reactions were about what Kise had been expecting. Aomine was furious and very vocal about it, cursing, kicking over wastebaskets, punching walls. Midorima cold and aloof, but with a dark aura around him that promised retribution. Momoi was frantic with worry. Takao more subdued than usual. Then when Kagami came he was just as big of a spectacle as Aomine, screaming death threats at the unknown party who'd dared hurt his shadow. The rest of Seirin was considerably more well behaved and polite, acting the way people in a hospital waiting room should act.

A doctor came out a little after Seirin arrived to give them an update. Or rather to give Aomine an update. Kise had taken the liberty of filling out some of the medical forms for Kuroko and listed Aomine as his brother to make it easier for them to get information. He would have put himself down but knew that Aomine was a better bet. With his blue hair, he could pull off being Kuroko's brother better.

The prognosis wasn't horrible but it wasn't good. None of Kuroko's injuries were life threatening with the possible exception of the head wound. They couldn't tell if it had caused any brain damage or other problems yet, but there was swelling, and they'd had to drain blood out of his skull. The next most serious thing had been some nicks to his organs, from where he'd been cut too deep, but the doctors had patched those up. He also had a broken arm and three broken ribs, and had needed a blood transfusion. Kise, Kagami, Hyuga, and Izuki all had A type blood like Kuroko and all immediately volunteered, but it hadn't been necessary. The hospital had plenty on hand, and had given him the transfusion before coming to tell them about it.

They settled in for a longer wait.

* * *

Murasakibara arrived next with Himuro in tow.

"Taiga," Himuro said, immediately going to his brother.

"Tatsuya? What are you doing here?" asked Kagami, surprised to see him.

"I suppose you could say I'm here for support," said Himuro. "How is Kuroko?"

"We don't know yet. He's got a bad head wound. The doctors say it could go either way."

"Which means there's only one way it's going to go," said Himuro. "Everyone here knows Kuroko doesn't know how to give up. If there's even a chance of success he'll grab it and make it a certainty."

"Heh. Yeah. Stubborn little bastard." At the reminder, Kagami felt a little better.

"Ne, Kagamicchi, remember that time Kurokocchi almost started a fight with those five punks?" asked Kise.

"Haha, yeah. The little idiot."

"Huh? Tetsu's not the type to pick fights with people, you idiots," Aomine said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It was after the practice game between Seirin and Kaijou," Kagami said. "We went out for steak, but while the rest of us were finishing up eating, Kise came and kidnapped Kuroko."

"I didn't kidnap him!"

"And when I found them they were on a streetball court," Kagami ignored Kise. "While I was yelling at Kise some punks started trying to bully these three other high schoolers off the court, then they started playing a three on three game of streetball to decide ownership."

"Except the punks cheated and a fourth player jumped in and blocked, and fouled, and was just being a jerk," said Kise. "He kicked the other guy while he was down. That was when Kurokocchi got involved."

"I thought the little bastard was trying to get himself beaten up," said Kagami. "But luckily those punks they said they wanted to settle it with basketball."

"Then Kagamicchi and I joined in and the three of us beat the five of them! It was fun! I finally got to play on the same team as Kurokocchi again!" said Kise, smiling nostalgically.

Kagami smiled at the memory too. "Want to know something else funny? The story didn't end there."

"Huh?" Kise asked. 'What do you mean?"

"Kuroko and I met those punks again in one of the Inter-High qualifying matches," said Kagami.

"What? They were actual high school players?" asked Kise. "For real?"

"Yeah. Our team mopped the floor with them. They about pissed themselves when they saw Kuroko and I again, and were terrified the whole game."

"Oh!" Riko seemed to remember. "So that's what was wrong with those guys!"

"Tetsu-kun never was the kind to leave something alone when he saw someone needed help," said Momoi. "He's a perfect gentleman like that. A real white knight."

"That's how we ended up with that damn dog," muttered Kagami, remembering how Kuroko had been unable to just leave the dog in the box.

They reminisced for awhile. The former Teiko students were able to tell a few interesting stories about Kuroko's middle school days. Some of them were very surprising. Others were very confusing like there was some kind of convoluted story about Kuroko and Momoi winding up being targeted by jewel thieves during a summer festival that made absolutely no sense, and that Kagami didn't really believe even though Aomine, Kise, Midorima, and Momoi all insisted it was true.

Seirin also had some good stories. Like the time Kuroko got excited to be tracking down Kiyoshi's missing wallet, treating it like a detective adventure. That even got Aomine to laugh.

"You all seem lively. Has there been news of Tetsuya's condition?"

Everyone started realizing Akashi was there.

"None in awhile," Kagami said. He left it to the Generation of Miracles to relay the details they did know to their former captain.

Akashi sat down beside Murasakibara, who'd been sullen and silent since arriving. And he listened as they told him everything they knew.

"I see," he said once they were finished. "And you're certain there were no clues about who did this to him, Kasamatsu-san?"

Kasamatsu shifted in his seat. "What? Do you think they'd be nice enough to leave a signed confession?"

"No. But I think you left something out of your story," said Akashi. His voice dropped the temperature of the room several degrees.

"What?" asked Kagami, not understanding.

"You know something more. I can see it written all over you," said Akashi. "And you're going to tell me. _Now."_

Kise was suddenly on his feet between both his ex-captain and his more current one. He stood between Akashi and Kasamatsu defensively, anger evident in every motion he made and syllable he spoke. "What are you accusing Kasamatsu-sempai of, Akashi?"

No one failed to notice that he left his usual suffix off Akashi's name.

The situation could have gotten ugly, but Kasamatsu took Kise's wrist and pulled him back into his seat. "No. Akashi-san is right. I did leave something out."

"What?" Kise sounded floored.

"Why?" demanded Kagami. That Kasamatsu wouldn't tell them something that might help them find out who did this to Kuroko was unthinkable. Kasamatsu was a good guy.

"I told the police already," said Kasamatsu. "So they already know."

"Did they ask you not to tell anyone else about it, sempai?" asked Kise.

"No. They didn't," said Kasamatsu. "I wasn't really hiding it from you guys. But it's not something I wanted to talk about. But I guess now's the time. At least with all of you here, I only have to say it once."

"What?" asked Kagami. He had the feeling that whatever Kasamatsu had to say was going to be both important and disturbing.

"There was a message," said Kasamatsu. He sounded sick all of a sudden. "It said "Hey Generation of Miracles. How does it feel?" And . . . it was carved into Kuroko's skin, over his chest and stomach."

* * *

Poor Kasamatsu kind of feels like he doesn't have a right to be there since Kuroko's not technically his friend, but at the same time feels like Kuroko's his responsibility now because he was the one who found him and saved his life. But he and Kise take care of each other. That's a very good thing, since Kise's going to need some taking care of next chapter. I think you can imagine how the GoM are going to take this message.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to: Nozomi Rizuki 1414, Sannur, kh07gl, seijuro407, yui yutikaisy, AkaKuro26, TheReihani, Sleix, talentlessDAWN, WinterEssence00, rara890, HibarixZhen, Another observer of the world, Heaven0Leigh, ruda102, MizunashiFuyuko, Sanz0girl, CaribbeanTrinidadian, Sakihinata, xdarkxkurokox, silverwolf027, May Eve, and the Guest who reviewed!

* * *

At first everyone was too horrified to speak. The silence was broken by Kise making a sound like he was going to be sick and covering his mouth with one hand.

Takao reacted fastest and grabbed a waste basket. He flung it in their direction. Himuro caught it and thrust it in front of Kise. Their efforts turned out to be unnecessary because Kise managed to control himself and not throw up, but it was a near thing. And Kise was grateful nonetheless.

"That sick fucker!" screamed Aomine.

"Tetsu-kun," Momoi whimpered, covering her mouth in horror.

Kagami stood and punched the wall repeatedly, and started screaming in English. Only half of them could understand his words, but they got the gist of what he was saying still. _"I'll fucking kill him!_ Whoever did this, I swear I'll rip him into a million fucking pieces! He is dead meat! That son of a bitch! _He is DEAD!"_

"Taiga, stop," said Himuro when Kagami's knuckles split open. He grabbed his brother and pulled him away from the wall, hugging him to restrain his arms.

"Aka-chin?" Murasakibara said in a voice that was trembling with rage that was barely contained.

"What?" Even Akashi sounded on edge. And Kise saw he was clenching his fist so tight that his nails had drawn blood from his own palm.

"Hurry up and find who did this so I can crush him."

"We'll find him. Never fear." There was steel in his voice. "Disgusting as this message was, I'll make sure that it's this bastard's undoing. I'll never say I'm grateful for this . . . this atrocity he committed on my friend. But it helps us narrow down the suspect pool considerably."

"It shouldn't be hard to narrow it down just to people who have a grudge against the Generation of Miracles," said Himuro.

"Um . . . you're joking, right?"

All eyes went to Takao who was looking at them like they'd all grown second heads.

"What do you mean Takao?" asked Midorima impatiently. "How many people do you really think bear us a grudge?"

Takao stared at him, his hawk eyes unreadable. Then he looked at where Seirin's players were sitting. Particularly at Kiyoshi. Then Takao sighed. "You really don't know? You really don't have a clue?"

"About what? Speak or shut up. We don't have time for your nonsense!" Midorima said angrily.

"The only nonsense being spoken is that you think you can narrow down your suspect pool," shot back Takao. Then he sighed again and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry to be the one to say this, and no offense Shin-chan or any of you other Miragens, but your list can only be narrowed down to . . . oh, just everyone you played against the second half of your second year, and your entire third year of middle school."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Midorima.

"He's not wrong," spoke up Kiyoshi.

"Kiyoshi-sempai?" asked one of Seirin's freshmen.

Kiyoshi and Takao looked at each other again and seemed to be having a silent conversation between themselves. Neither of them looked pleased.

"Do you want me to tell them?" asked Kiyoshi after several seconds of their silent conversation.

Takao seemed to consider then shook his head. "Thanks, but no, Iron Heart. If it's me I think Midorima will believe it. And if he believes it, the others are more likely to."

"I am running out of patience, Takao," said Midorima dangerously. "What are you talking about? What makes you think so many people carry a grudge against us just for beating them in a basketball game?"

Takao gave a grimace. "Man. I really don't want to do this. It's like punishing a puppy for something it did last week. There's no way to make it understand . . ."

_"Takao –"_

"Right. Sorry, but everyone in middle school hated your guts. All of you," said Takao bluntly.

"They did not hate our guts just for beating them in a game of basketball or two," said Midorima. "If that was how it worked then none of us would be able to abide being in the same room as anyone from Seirin."

"And you _still_ don't get it," said Takao. "People didn't hate you for beating them. That's life. Especially in sports. You win some. You lose some. You get over it. You get back up and get ready for the next game. Except you guys didn't just beat your opponents. You broke them."

"We didn't –"

"You did," spoke up Kiyoshi.

The usually cheerful upperclassman's condemning words weighed down on them all heavily.

"I'm sorry," said Kiyoshi. "Because it's clear most of you guys either don't remember what you did, or maybe never knew. And I don't think you're the same people you were back then anymore, but it doesn't change the past. You hurt a lot of people."

"They lost a game!" shouted Aomine. "Those weren't big deals. They got over it!"

"Like Kuroko got over what you did at the championships your third year?" asked Izuki.

"The championships . . . how do you know about that?" asked Momoi.

"Uh, is there anyone who doesn't know about that?" asked Takao. "You know they call that the game that shall live in infamy?"

"Kuroko told us," said Riko. "He told us everything. How you deliberately humiliated his childhood friend."

Shame could be seen on all the faces of the Generation of Miracles now at the memory. And guilt. But not as much guilt as was to come.

"I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to say next to make you feel bad," said Riko, "Even though I know it will make you feel bad. I'm telling you because I think you need to believe what Takao-kun and Kiyoshi are saying. Kuroko was scarred by what you did to his friend. His friend, and all the other third years on Meiko's team quit basketball after that. You took something they loved and ruined it for them. You made them hate it. You caused them a lot of pain."

"You made Kuroko hate basketball too," said Kagami, but not angrily or cruelly. "He told me about it once. I don't think there was any way you could have hurt him worse than that if you tried."

"It wasn't just Meiko you did that to," added Kiyoshi. "And it wasn't just losing to you that broke peoples' spirits. It was what you said to them and how you treated them that did it. People lose games and contests all the time. It's a lot harder to be told you're worthless by people you look up to, or be treated like garbage by them."

"And it is extremely hard when something happens that makes you hate something you once loved," said Hyuga.

"But . . . we couldn't have been that bad," said Kise. "Not . . . not to everyone we played against."

"You were. Everyone in my club who played against you guys quit after our match," said Takao. "And . . . never mind."

"What, Takao?" asked Midorima.

"I said never mind."

"I want to know what you were going to say."

"Trust me, you don't."

"Tell me, Takao," ordered Midorima. "You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't think it was worth mentioning."

Takao clenched his teeth. "After some of the things you guys said . . . one of the guys on my team took them to heart too much and . . . and . . . and tried to kill himself."

The next several seconds were filled only with silence. Then:

"Wh-what?" asked Kise, his voice wavering then breaking.

"T-Takao . . ." Midorima didn't seem to know what else to say.

"Is he alright?" asked Aomine. "D-did he –"

"He didn't succeed. And he got better," said Takao. "I didn't tell you that to make you feel like shit, by the way. I know you feel like shit already. I only told you because I don't want you eliminating anyone from the suspect pool who shouldn't be eliminated. I want whoever did this to Kuroko caught."

Everyone was silent again.

"W-we're sorry," whispered Kise at last. "We . . . we didn't mean for . . . we didn't know . . ."

"We would have never . . . God . . ." Aomine looked like he might throw up now.

Akashi appeared frozen, while Midorima could only stare at Takao with dread and horror.

"We're s-s-sorry," Kise said again. He was looking at the ground so his hair obscured his eyes, but looking at him you could see tears dripping down his cheeks and chin.

Kasamatsu saw this and reached out, putting an arm around Kise's shoulders and pulling him slightly toward him. _"That's enough!_ They get that what they did was wrong. They feel bad enough already! So _enough!_"

He could feel Kise trembling in his hold. The other Generation of Miracle members didn't look better. Aomine had a look on his face like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Midorima's eyes were hidden behind the glare of his glasses, but his shoulders were hunched like he was in pain. Akashi had sunk down into his seat. He looked like a lost child. And Murasakibara . . . Abruptly the purple haired giant stood and ran from the room, a wild look in his eyes.

"Excuse us," said Himuro, then hurried after him.

"I need some air," Aomine said and stood too. He was pale beneath his tan.

"I'll come too," said Momoi, trying to take Aomine's arm, but he shook her off.

"No, Satsuki." He fled the waiting room and ran in a different direction than the one Murasakibara had gone. Despite his rejection, Momoi went after him like the friend she was.

"You alright, Shin-chan?" Takao asked Midorima softly from their corner of the room.

". . . No."

That admission shocked Kasamatsu. Midorima seemed like the kind who was usually very closed off and in perfect control. For him to just admit something like that was very surprising. Takao must have felt the same because he went slackjawed and just stared at Midorima for several seconds. Then he took his hands and pulled him up.

"Come on. You need some air too."

Midorima didn't resist as Takao pulled him outside.

That left only Kise and Akashi as the only Generation of Miracles members left in the room.

Kise's shakes had gotten worse, Kasamatsu realized. His kouhai was barely keeping himself together. His best friend had been beaten within and inch of his life and strung up like a puppet, then he learned that it was done because of a grudge against him and his teammates, then he'd learned this. It was too much for anyone, Kasamatsu realized.

"Kise."

"Sempai. I . . ."

Kasamatsu unslung his arm from Kise's shoulders. He planned to pull the younger teen into a real hug, but Kise caught his hand like someone desperate. The look he gave Kasamatsu was even more so. Kasamatsu read his expression clear as day.

Please don't hate me.

"Oh Kise," Kasamatsu whispered. Then he pulled Kise to him in a hug like he'd planned.

The dam broke.

"Sempai," sobbed Kise. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of that to happen. I'm so sorry."

"I know." All Kasamatsu could do was hold him as he wept like a child.

One member of the Generation of Miracles had come there alone. And now he sat alone. His teammates all gone, too distraught by what they'd just learned to keep themselves together, let alone spare strength for their former captain who'd led them to this.

Akashi had never wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. He certainly was a man of dualities, wasn't he? He'd led his team both to victory and to ruin. And his two personalities seemed determined to destroy one another. His darker side might have done it with this, he reflected. His better half might not be able to cope with this guilt.

He wanted to run away, or bury his face in his hands and cry. He wanted to go back in time and fix things, so that he never hurt anyone. Not his opponents. Especially not his team. His friends. And most of all, he didn't want to hurt Kuroko. The best of them. The one who was paying for their sins now.

I'm sorry.

Kise was sobbing it like a mantra. Akashi felt like following his example. But it was like he was petrified. He couldn't do anything. Couldn't stand and leave. Couldn't just sit and cry. He had never felt so pathetic and helpless and so terribly alone.

A hand on Akashi's shoulder made him jump. Then he turned and found himself looking up at Kiyoshi Teppei. Kiyoshi patted his shoulder a couple more times, then sat down beside Akashi and leaned back, settling in, close enough so that his shoulder was almost touching Akashi's. Akashi leaned toward him just slightly so that their sleeves made contact. And Kiyoshi didn't pull away.

"I . . . I . . ." Akashi couldn't find the words.

"We know," said Kiyoshi.

"I never meant . . ."

"It's going to be alright."

"But what I did to Tetsuya –"

"He forgave you a long time ago," said Kiyoshi.

"But I never told him I was sorry." Akashi would have winced at how weak and childish he sounded right then but he couldn't bring himself to care about something like that. "I never told him –"

"You can tell him when he wakes up," said Kiyoshi, and put his hand on Akashi's shoulder again.

Then the dam broke for Akashi. He tried to hold his tears back but it was no use. All he could do to save face was to hide his face behind his hands as he cried.

Kiyoshi didn't try to pull him into a hug, which would have been too forward and too awkward since they didn't know each other at all. But he did put his arm behind Akashi's back and rubbed it. And he stayed by Akashi, like that, lending him strength.

It took awhile for him to get himself under control. But he managed to just in time.

"Excuse me. Is there someone here waiting for Kuroko Tetsuya?"

Akashi's head snapped up and he looked toward the doctor who'd come into the waiting room.

"Yes. Here. I'm his cousin," Kagami lied more smoothly than Akashi could have predicted he was capable of.

"I have good news and bad news."

* * *

Important: Please read

First, to clarify so no one gets the wrong idea, Takao and Seirin weren't saying those things to hurt the GoM, or to say that what happened to Kuroko now is their fault. But the GoM's feelings aren't at the top of their priorities right now. Finding who did this to Kuroko is, so even if it made the GoM feel terrible, they had to let them know, so that they don't overlook anyone who it could possibly have been.

In Takao's and Seirin's defense, it was something that I think the GoM needs to hear at some point, even if the timing was horrible now. They were monsters for awhile. They hurt a lot of people, including one of their dearest friends. But they were just kids then, not fully aware of what they were doing, or what the effects of their actions could have. Children can be cruel, and they needed someone to stop them when they were doing things that were wrong or hurtful. That someone should have been their coach, but he never stepped up. They only found their way back to what's right after leaving Teiko, and under the influence of their new teams, and/or Kuroko's determination to change them back to the friends he knew before.

Second: Right now Akashi's dominant personality is his nice one. The one who gave Kuroko a chance when no one else could or would, and made him part of their team. Not the one who demonstrated to Kagami how you don't use scissors. Hopefully his reactions to learning how much he hurt people aren't too OOC for the Nice!Akashi personality.

And lastly: Do you guys want to see what happens with the Miragens who left the waiting room, and how their friends get through to them, or should I skimp over that and keep the plot moving? I'm not sure what's better. I have ideas for how they play out, but I don't want people saying it's just filler. So help me out and let me know! Do you want to see them all, or none, or just one or two?


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to tweeveers, seijuro407, Alikhar, AokazuSei, Sannur, xXxPhantomxXx, Saxima, AJ-Machado, NeitherSaneNorInsane, 0myao, Heaven0Leigh, SinJaLOVE, Chamcha, letitri, MizunashiFuyuko, AspergianStoryteller, AkaKuro26, clarit, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, Federica27, Sakihinata, Vehenna, Alice, Ehmm, Mae, a random fairy, silverwolf027, sakunokishimori, and the four Guests who reviewed!

Thanks for all your feedback and answering my question! Enough people wanted to see reactions from Aomine, Murasakibara, and Midorima that I'm going to write them all. But lots of people wanted to know what the doctor was going to say immediately, so I'm splitting their reactions up. Aomine got the most requests so he's up first Special thanks to AspergianStoryteller and clarit for the suggestions of how to do that!

And btw, AkaKuro26 . . . Izuki would be proud!

* * *

"The good news is that he's going to live. And he's going to wake up, though we don't know when. The bad news is that our CAT scans are showing he's sustained brain damage. It doesn't look good, but we won't know what the effects are going to be, or whether they'll be temporary or permanent until he wakes up."

"B-brain damage?" asked Kagami, feeling like he was caught in a nightmare. "What . . . do you mean? What's going to happen to him?"

"We won't know the full effects until he awakes," said the doctor. "But they could range from memory loss, to personality changes . . . to being mentally incapacitated. I'm sorry, we can't tell you more than that."

"What are the best and worst case scenarios?" asked Riko. Like everyone else she looked scared.

"In the very best case scenario, he might just be hazy on the events of the past few weeks, or have a few holes in his memory," said the doctor. "At worst . . . he'd need constant care. He wouldn't be the person you knew anymore, or even a shadow of him."

"And what are the chances of that happening?" Akashi asked in a tremorous voice.

"We can't make any estimates about this," said the doctor. "There are no percentages in cases like these. Head wounds are completely different than other injuries."

"I see."

"We have moved him into a room by himself. We will permit visitors now, but at this time we feel that it's best that only family be admitted."

"He's in a room by himself?" Kiyoshi asked, looking worried. "That can't be good."

"It was done at my request," Akashi spoke up. "I made the necessary arrangements on my way here from Kyoto."

"But –"

"It has already been done. And it has already been paid for," Akashi said flatly.

"Which of you are Kuroko-kun's relatives?" the doctor asked, looking them over.

"I'm his cousin," lied Kagami again. "So are those two."

Kagami pointed to Akashi then to Kise.

"His brother stepped out. Can one of our friends bring him there when he gets back?" Kagami asked.

The doctor looked slightly suspicious at the blonde and the redheads but didn't argue. "That will be fine."

* * *

Aomine was crying. Momoi had never seen him break down like this before. It was scary in a way. Like seeing cracks in a building's foundation, or an ancient tree broken after a thunderstorm. Some things you just took for granted as being strong and invincible. Aomine had always been one of those for Momoi.

"Dai-chan . . ."

"I didn't know."

"I know."

"But that doesn't absolve me from when I did," said Aomine. "That doesn't absolve any of us. We brought this on Tetsu. It's our fault this happened to him."

"No. It's the fault of whoever was enough of an ass that they went and did this to him," said Momoi angrily. "That person is the one to blame, Dai-chan. Tetsu-kun will be the first to tell you that when he wakes up!"

"Tetsu probably isn't even going to want to talk to me. How could he? After what we did?" Aomine made a sound like a sob. "I should just leave now. I should stay away from him and never darken his doorstep again. That –"

SLAP

"Don't. You. Dare," hissed Momoi. "Don't you dare abandon him again! How dare you think about hurting him like that again?"

Aomine stared at her in shock. "B-but –"

"NO! Unless he tells you to leave then you stay with him! You be the friend he needs!" screamed Momoi. "Because Tetsu-kun wants you there! I don't know why! You're an idiot! A basketball idiot ganguro who always smells like sweat! You're selfish and perverted! You were never there when he needed you before! But for once in your life just do the right thing and be there for him now! He needs you now! Don't you dare abandon him! Don't you dare!"

"S-Satsuki." Aomine looked close to breaking. "I –I – I'm so sorry. For everything."

"Don't tell that to me! Tell that to Tetsu-kun!" said Momoi. She was crying too now. "Don't you know how much he loves you, Dai-chan?"

Aomine bowed his head. "I don't see how he could."

"You saw how far he went to make you love basketball again," said Momoi softly.

"But I don't know why. I was horrible to him. I said horrible things to him," said Aomine. "My friendship is like poison to him."

"He doesn't think so," said Momoi. "And neither do I. There have been times when you were the only one who believed in him. You remember, don't you?"

Aomine did. The time when Kuroko had been set to quit the basketball club. Then when he finally made first string, and his first attempt at testing out misdirection in an actual match failed. Aomine had put his own eligibility for first string on the line to ensure he got another chance.

"But that was before . . ."

"And this is now," said Momoi. "You have another chance. Don't let it slip away. I won't forgive you if you hurt Tetsu-kun again."

"I don't want to hurt him again," said Aomine. "I don't want him ever to be hurt again by anything."

"Then be there for him. Make sure nothing and no one hurts him. Please, come back to the waiting room now. Ki-chan put you down as Tetsu-kun's brother. You need to be there for when they bring news."

"Right. Let's . . . let's go."

* * *

Kuroko looked like he was sleeping, if you could ignore the breathing tubes at his mouth and nose. He'd been cleaned up and dressed in a white kimono-like hospital robe. His head wound had been bandaged. So had all his other cuts. There were still bruises visible on his milky pale skin, and his left arm was in a cast.

"Kurokocchi," whispered Kise as he saw his friend lying there. He gently reached forward to touch the smaller boy's cheek. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, Kagami," Akashi said, taking a seat and pulling it closer to Kuroko's bed. "For lying so we could accompany you."

"Don't thank me. I didn't do it for you. I did it for Kuroko," said Kagami, sitting down in another chair. "He's going to want to see you idiots when he wakes up. Proof that he's just as mental as everyone else from the Generation of Miracles."

"Hmmm."

"You thought of something, Akashicchi?" asked Kise.

"I'm not sure if it's relevant yet," said Akashi. He glanced at Kagami then lowered his gaze. "Please don't misunderstand me. I am very upset by what I learned. I regret my past actions more than I can possibly express with words or actions. But I still intend to find out who did this to Tetsuya."

"You better still intend that," said Kagami. "Because, you know that's pretty much the only way you can prove you're not the jerks you used to be."

"I intend to," said Akashi. "And something occurred to me when you said that Tetsuya was just as mental everyone else from the Generation of Miracles, to quote what you said. What occurred to me is that not everyone sees Tetsuya as one of us."

"What?" asked Kagami.

"Not everyone even believes in the Sixth Phantom member. Many thought he was a myth. Even the ones who played against him. Even most of the people who do know he exists didn't see him as one of us, including our other teammates. The ones who weren't regulars," said Akashi. "I don't think whoever did this to him saw him as one of us. They wanted to crush our spirits collectively. If they considered Tetsuya to be one of us, they would have wanted him alive to live with a crushed spirit. Whoever did this to him expected him to die. So whoever did this to him didn't see him as one of us."

"You think that'll help you find who did this?"

"I don't know," said Akashi. "But it's something to consider. Also, in case you were wondering, the five of us always considered Tetsuya to be one of us."

"I know that, idiot," said Kagami.

"Do you have any ideas of who might have done this, Akashicchi?" asked Kise. He had pulled himself together remarkably well, but looking at him you could still see that he was in a fragile state. His hands had a slight tremble to them, and his eyes were constantly on the verge of tearing up.

"Before realizing how large the suspect pool was, I had made a preliminary list," said Akashi. "Notable people who I knew to have grudges against us included Haizaki, the twins from West Kamata Middle School who previously injured Tetsuya, and the entirety of Meiko's team from last year."

"I've got someone for you to add to the list," said Kagami. "Hanamiya Makoto."

"Hanamiya bears no grudge to the Generation of Miracles," said Akashi.

"That's what you think," said Kagami. "Something he said during our match made me think otherwise. Besides, you might be reading too much into that message."

"That message is not something we can ignore, considering how it was delivered."

"And you haven't considered it might be misdirection?" asked Kagami.

Akashi and Kise looked at each other in surprise.

"The thought had not yet occurred to me," admitted Akashi.

"Whoever is enough of a messed up psycho to beat up someone as weak and baby faced as Kuroko is a twisted son of a bitch," said Kagami. "I don't think their honesty counts for shit. Even in a message that they deliver to us the way they did this one."

"You don't really believe that this isn't about us in some way," said Akashi.

"I don't think there are that many monsters in the world."

"You're in the presence of two of them right now," said Akashi.

"Don't kid yourself," said Kagami. "You guys were dicks when you were younger, yeah. You got big heads because you were hot shit, and because no one kept you in line. But Kuroko said it and it's true. You would never deliberately injure someone. Someone who goes around trying to cripple athletes just for kicks, is what I call a real monster."

"But what we did to Kurokocchi's friend –"

"Shut up," said Kagami. "I get that you're feeling guilty about what you did now. That just proves you're human. Now I'm finished arguing with you about whether or not you guys were monsters. A real monster hurt your friend. Are you going to wallow in pity or are you going to help toss out ideas to find out who it was?"

"You saying that the message could be a lie doesn't exactly help narrow the suspect pool at all," pointed out Akashi.

"Are you trying to say someone has a grudge against . . . I don't know, Kurokocchi or Seirin in general?" asked Kise. "And wrote that message to us to throw everyone off their trail?"

"It could be," said Kagami.

"I doubt it," said Akashi. "Doing what he did to Tetsuya . . . I can't believe that something like that would be a bluff."

"Me neither," said Kise. He wiped his eyes and took one of Kuroko's bandaged hands. "I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi. We never meant to bring this on you."

"I still like Hanamiya for this," said Kagami. "Like I said, he's got a grudge against you guys too. And he hates Kuroko. He vowed to make all of Seirin pay for beating him for the rest of our lives."

"In which case he would have carved the message to Seirin on . . . he would have addressed the message to Seirin," said Akashi. "He would _want_ you to know it was him."

"Unless he wants to take a swing at you guys while he's at it," said Kagami.

"We won't rule him out," said Akashi. "But we won't narrow things down just to him."

"I think it's more likely to be Haizaki," said Kise in a grim tone. "He's a violent son of a bitch. You saw what he was like, Kagamicchi."

"Yeah."

Akashi looked at them with interest. "Did something happen between the two of you and Haizaki?"

"Before Kaijou's match with Haizaki's team, right after we beat Yosen," said Kagami. "I went outside to try to find Tatsuya. I found him on the ground bleeding in front of Haizaki. And Haizaki was holding our old teacher, Alex, by her throat, a foot off the ground."

_"What?"_ Akashi looked absolutely shocked, something Kise hadn't thought possible.

"Yeah," said Kagami. "I swear, I almost killed the bastard. I would have if Tatsuya and Kise hadn't stopped me."

"I took responsibility for beating Haizaki," said Kise. "I came outside looking for Haizaki because I wondered why he wasn't warming up and found them before any punches were thrown."

"I saw how he attempted to injure your leg on the court," Akashi admitted.

"What you don't know, is afterward he was planning on settling things," said Kise. "Off the court. But Aominecchi found him before he found me. I don't know what happened, but Aominecchi texted me and told me that he'd taken care of it."

"I will have to ask Daiki what happened," said Akashi. "Right now Haizaki seems our most viable suspect."

"What do you think the chances are that Kuroko will be able to tell us who did this when he wakes up?" asked Kagami.

"I don't know." It was obvious Akashi hated admitting this.

But who knew if Kuroko would remember when he woke up? Or if he'd even know who he was or they were?

* * *

Midorima and Murasakibara's reactions will be next!

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to: Heaven0Leigh, xDarkxKurokox, Chamcha, AspergianStoryteller, MizunashiFuyuko, AkaKuro26, xXxPhantomxXx, TheReihani, CaribbeanTrinidadian, Another observer of the world, clarit, rara890, Federica27, year-of-the-panda, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, PiWrite, Amywxue, Monkey D. Writer, silverwolf027, Sakihinata, Guest-kcr, Somebody, PurPlePickLePiE, sakunokishimori, and the two Guests who reviewed! And special thanks to clarit and Another observer of the world for the wonderously long reviews! Those made my day!

As promised, here are Midorima's and Murasakibara's reactions, separated by some more plot moving parts of the story.

* * *

"Damn it!" Midorima's left hand knuckles split against the wall as his fist collided with it.

"Shin-chan, don't!" Takao said, grabbing onto his arm.

"Let go, Takao."

"No. Not if you're just going to hurt yourself," said Takao flatly. "I didn't bring you out here to punch walls."

"Why did you bring me out here at all?" asked Midorima brokenly. "Why do you care? How can you even stand to look at me?"

"What's this? Self pity doesn't become you, Shin-chan," said Takao.

"It's not self pity. It's self loathing," Midorima cried. "What else can I feel upon learning that I made my best friend try to kill himself?"

Takao froze. Then he gave a shaky laugh. "I didn't think anyone would realize I was talking about myself."

"I know you. Now. If I'd known you back then, then I hope to God that I wouldn't have . . . but I probably would have. I was a monster. Why don't you hate me?" It was taking everything Midorima had not to break down sobbing. He couldn't even look his friend in the eye now.

"Because I know you. And there's nothing here worth hating."

"But I _hurt_ you!" argued Midorima. Several tears managed to escape his eyes when he blinked.

"Actually, it wasn't you who said the things that got me in a funk," Takao said. "I'm not telling you which one did, by the way. You don't need to know. They don't need to know. It's over and done. You guys aren't the monsters you were anymore, and I'm not the weakling who tried to throw in the towel either."

Midorima thought he would have felt relief upon learning that it hadn't been him who'd said such hurtful things that they made Takao of all people try to commit suicide. But he didn't. There was no relief for him. Even if he hadn't been the one who'd said those things, he hadn't stopped his teammates from saying them. Or doing the things they'd done. He could have. But he didn't. And because of his inaction, Takao had almost . . . had almost . . . God. Midorima couldn't even imagine his life without Takao now. The thought that he had almost ruined it all before he even met his best friend hurt like a physical wound.

"I knew what we were doing was wrong," Midorima said shakily. "When we started doing hurtful things, I knew. But I didn't say anything. I could have. I should have said something or done something. But I didn't. The only one who did try to stop us, and make us act respectfully was Kuroko. He tried but we didn't listen. I _knew_ he was right, and I didn't back him up. And even when I saw how hurt he was when we ignored him, I didn't even try to help him."

"It's hard to go against the flow," said Takao. "We all do things we regret."

"But how many of us do things that hurt our friends so badly?"

Takao surprised Midorima by slamming into him and wrapping his arms around him tightly. "You're not that person anymore, Shin-chan."

"Maybe not. But I was that person once. I have to take responsibility now."

"Trying to verbally spar with you is exhausting, and I know I can't win," sighed Takao. He held Midorima back at an arm's length and tried to look him in the eye. When Midorima only stared at the ground, he grabbed Midorima's chin and forcibly turned his head so they were making eye contact. "I forgive you. Alright? And Kuroko forgives you too. You know it's true. Look what he did, the lengths he went to, to make you guys change back to being the people who he was friends with, before you all got fat headed and stuff."

"I don't deserve forgiveness."

Takao gave him a nonplussed look. "That's rude, Shin-chan. Saying you won't accept our forgiveness."

"I didn't say –"

"You did."

"I did not."

"Saying you don't deserve it is the same as rejecting it!" Takao huffed. "You're the worst! I'm trying to have a heart to heart and you keep trying to shut me down, and now you're refusing to accept my forgiveness? Are you trying to make me cry?"

"I'm trying to take responsibility –"

"You're trying to wallow in self pity, and I'm not dealing with this shit right now, Midorima!" said Takao in a raised voice. "Accept that Kuroko and I both forgive you! Accept that you're not the same person you were! Be his friend again, and be mine now!"

Hearing Takao make that appeal so earnestly, Midorima couldn't bring himself to protest.

"I'm not a good friend . . . but I'll try hard for the two of you," he said finally. "You both deserve it."

Takao grinned, realizing he'd won. "Just be you. And we'll be us. And everything will work out. You'll see. Everything will turn out fine."

* * *

"Hey," said Aomine from the doorway. They looked and saw him lingering just one step into the hallway like he wasn't sure if he should be there or not. Then Momoi shoved him into the room. Behind them Kiyoshi entered much less dramatically.

"Daiki," said Akashi. "I'm glad you joined us."

Kiyoshi glanced over his shoulder like he was making sure no one was going to come in and drag him out, then he quickly went over to Kuroko and put a hand on his forehead. "Hey, Kuroko. Sorry, I can't stay long. They're only letting family in to see you right now. I only got in because I was showing your Miracle friends the way. But I wanted to give you a message from all of Seirin."

Then he leaned down to whisper it into Kuroko's ear. The others couldn't hear what he said, but no one asked. If he'd wanted them all to hear, he would have said it out loud. Then Kiyoshi's eyes glazed over with tears as he stood up.

"So, get better soon, little brother. Our family isn't whole without you there with us."

Kiyoshi left then, after nodding to Kagami on his way out.

Aomine still hesitated to come any closer, even though Momoi tried to gently push him.

"You know, there's another chair, right there," Kagami said, seeing this. He nodded his head toward an empty chair on the other side of Kuroko's bed. "Sit. You look like hell."

Aomine really did. His eyes were red, like he'd been crying. But they were wide, like the pictures Kagami had seen of him from before his talents bloomed out of control. And the guy's hands were shaking. Learning about what he'd done in middle school, and what his actions had led to had clearly shaken him. Maybe even crushed him. The look in his eyes as he stared at Kuroko . . . it was heartbreaking, even to Kagami, who didn't even like him. Kagami couldn't stand to see his rival looking like that.

"For God's sake, just sit down already," Kagami growled. "And stop looking at Kuroko like he's going to die or something. He's not. The kid's going to be fine.

Aomine obeyed, pulling the chair closer to Kurko's bed. Then he scowled. "Kise! What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Kise said.

"Stop braiding Tetsu's hair!"

"He's not complaining!" protested Kise.

"Because he's comatose! Will you for once leave him alone! You're always, always hanging onto him, smothering him and harassing him!"

"It's better than ignoring him and leaving him all by himself!" Kise retorted.

Aomine froze.

"Enough! Both of you!" ordered Akashi.

Kise bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Aominecchi. I was out of line."

Wordlessly, Aomine took Kuroko's hand. He ran a finger over Kuroko's bandaged knuckles.

"He fought back," said Kise, noticing what Aomine had noticed. "Hopefully he managed to hurt whoever did this to him, at least a little bit."

"Of course he fought back," said Aomine. "Tetsu doesn't give up. Ever."

Kise started unbraiding his previous work in Kuroko's hair. "I can't stop thinking about . . . what must have happened. How whoever did this . . . just beat him and beat him. All these bruises . . . he must have been hit so many times. And then when he couldn't fight back anymore, some monster took a knife and cut . . . and cut –"

"For God's sake, shut up!" screamed Aomine. He would have screamed more but the small hand he was holding in his own jerked out of his slackened grip. His eyes flew to Kuroko who'd raised it to shield his face and was flinching away from him. "Tetsu! Oh God, Tetsu!"

Kuroko's hand slowly lowered. He looked at Aomine like he was having trouble focusing on him. His breathing grew erratic and frantic. The machines he was connected to started beeping urgently.

"Kurokocchi! You're awake!" Kise grinned through his tears and started to reach for him.

Kuroko gasped and flinched further back, raising his arms to shield himself again. Aomine grabbed Kise to stop him, even though Kise had drawn up short anyway.

"Kurokocchi?"

"Get back," ordered Akashi. "Both of you. Give him some room."

"I'm getting the doctor," Kagami said, and hurried from the room.

Aomine pulled Kise back from the bed. Kise didn't resist. Obeying Akashi's orders were too ingrained in them. Momentarily, Kuroko lowered his hands again and looked in their direction with unfocused eyes. When he blinked, tears spilled down his pale cheeks.

"Tetsuya?" asked Akashi, moving forward slowly.

Kuroko flinched again, but at least this time didn't try to hide behind his hands. He slowly looked in Akashi's direction.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Kuroko tried to speak, then seemed to feel the tubes going down his throat. He panicked and choked.

Aomine moved without thinking.

"Hey, hey, you're alright," he said, grabbing Kuroko's hands when he would have pulled at the tubes and probably made things worse. "You're alright, Tetsu. Just take it easy, alright?"

"A . . . o . . . mi . . ." Kuroko broke off in a coughing fit.

"Yeah. It's me. I'm right here."

Kuroko twisted one of his wrists out of Aomine's grip and used it to grab a fistful of Aomine's shirt, like he was desperate.

"Hey, it's alright," said Aomine, sitting down on the bed so that he was closer to Kuroko, and pulling the smaller boy to him. "You're safe now."

"Where . . . what . . ."

"Just breathe, Tetsu. It's going to be alright."

Something was wrong. Aomine could tell that just by looking at his friend. Something was seriously, seriously wrong. Kuroko's reaction was going beyond fear, even considering what he'd just been through. It was more like he wasn't in control of his actions or thoughts. His breathing was ragged, his movements choppy and jerky.

"It's going to be alright," said Aomine again, hoping that if he said it enough it would become true.

Kuroko slumped against Aomine then, but not out of relief. He didn't relax against him by any means. It was more like a muscle spasm. Then he started shaking violently and the machines he was connected to stopped simply beeping urgently and began screaming like sirens.

"Hold onto him!" Akashi ordered. "He's having a seizure! DOCTOR!"

Kagami reappeared with a doctor and orderly in tow. They took one look at the situation, then the doctor hurried forward as the orderly paged for more help.

"You kids need to get out of here, now," said the doctor. "Go back to the waiting room."

"But –"

"Don't argue with him," said Akashi when Aomine and Kise would have protested. "There's nothing we can do here but get in the way."

Aomine felt a sense of loss greater than anything he'd ever felt before when the orderly pryed Kuroko out of his arms and pressed him back down on the bed. It was worse than when he lost his sense of fun in basketball. And a million times worse than losing a game had been.

He almost punched Kagami in the face for pulling him away as the doctor and orderly restrained Kuroko.

"Daiki," Akashi said sharply obviously reading his thoughts. "Come. Now."

Aomine took a deep breath and let himself be pulled away. His vision had gone strangely blurry, and he realized he was crying again.

"I'll be back this time, Tetsu," he called to his former shadow. "I promise, I'm coming back."

* * *

The mood in the waiting room was grim when Midorima and Takao returned.

"What happened?" Midorima asked, immediately sensing the change.

"Tetsuya woke up, but almost immediately had a seizure," answered Akashi.

"Does he remember . . ." Midorima trailed off.

"We don't know what he remembers. He didn't say anything before having a seizure. It was like he woke up in a panic attack that went right to a seizure," said Akashi. His voice lowered and he added, "He looked so scared."

"He said my name," argued Aomine. "Or tried to. But he definitely knew who I was. You heard him, right Kise?"

"I . . . ah . . . yeah," said Kise. It was so obvious that he was lying right there. Midorima closed his eyes and grimaced, wondering if Kuroko really had tried to say Aomine's name, or if Aomine had just heard what he wanted to hear.

"How long ago did this happen?" Takao asked.

"Minutes ago. We just got back here," said Kagami.

"I don't suppose you saw Atsushi while you were outside?" asked Akashi.

"No. We didn't see him or the guy who needs a hair pin," answered Takao.

"Oh." Akashi looked uncertain. A strange expression on his face. Like he didn't know if he should go after Murasakibara or let him be.

"If Himuro's with him, he'll be fine," said Kagami. "Himuro's the kind of guy you can count on to take care of his friends."

"I see. Then . . . I'll trust your judgment."

Kagami nodded, then turned his gaze to the floor. Everyone who'd seen Kuroko at that time seemed extremely downcast, Midorima noticed. He could imagine why. Seeing someone have a seizure was terrifying. But for that someone to be a friend, who just woke up after something like Kuroko had been through, had to be so much worse.

"Please excuse me for a few minutes," Akashi said, standing. "I need to make some calls. If there's any news of Tetsuya's condition, please send someone to find me."

"Akashi . . ." Midorima said uncertainly, not sure if his former captain was alright.

Akashi met his gaze and nodded, answering the unasked question.

"I need to make some arrangements. That is all." And knowing Akashi, those arrangements would be for Japan's best brain trauma specialists and doctors to come to the Kanegawa hospital.

"Alright. We'll come get you if there's any news."

* * *

"You should eat something, Atsushi," Himuro said softly.

"Not hungry," said Murasakibara

"You haven't had a thing to eat since we left Akita."

"I'm not hungry, Muro-chin. I can't eat now."

"Kuroko would be sad to see you so upset you can't even eat your snacks," said Himuro. "Please, eat something."

He tried to press a candybar into Murasakibara's hand, but it was batted away.

"Not hungry."

"Atsushi . . ."

"I never wanted to hurt anyone, Muro-chin," said Murasakibara. "Not really. Even when I wanted to crush people, I didn't _mean_ it."

"I know."

"And someone went and . . . Kuro-chin . . . he's so tiny. I used to worry I'd accidentally crush him or step on him. I always knew he'd break too easily. And now someone . . . someone . . ."

"Kuroko isn't going to break that easily."

"But they _hurt_ him! Bad! Because of us! And _we hurt people!_ Mido-chin's friend's teammate tried to kill himself because we hurt him! Who knows how badly we hurt other people?"

Himuro was glad they were both wearing coats. It was cold outside and they'd been out there nearly half an hour. But finally, Murasakibara was starting to open up and talk. Himuro would have waited however long it took.

"I never wanted this." Despite his size, Murasakibara sounded like a child, and even had the lost expression of one.

"I know you didn't, Atsushi. You're a good person," Himuro said.

"But it happened anyway. And it's all my fault."

"I hurt someone I cared about too once," Himuro said. "A couple years ago. So I guess I was about the same age as you when you made your mistakes. But my actions caused Taiga, my little brother, a lot of pain, and hurt him in more ways than I knew."

He bowed his head, wondering how things might have been different if Kagami hadn't put up a mental block when it came to basketball in his mind. His subconscious desire not to become better than Himuro, because he didn't want them to stop being brothers had caused trouble for Seirin. They might have been able to beat Touo in their first match if Kagami hadn't been subconsciously chained. Kuroko might have succeeded in changing all his friends back to the sort of people they'd once been, during the summer, at Inter-High. Would this whole mess just have happened sooner, if he had? It was impossible to say.

"I was very lucky in the end. Taiga was stronger than I was. He was able to forgive me for how my actions hurt him. I know Kuroko will forgive you too. I think he has already. He's even stronger than Taiga in some ways."

"But . . . but . . ."

"Don't you want him to forgive you?"

Murasakibara nodded, tears spilling from his eyes.

"I think we should go back to the waiting room, then. Your other friends will be worried. And if Kuroko wakes up and they let people go see him, I think he'd be hurt if you weren't there," said Himuro. "Come on. Let's go back."

"Yes," Murasakibara said, wiping his eyes.

* * *

please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to:

xXxOtAkU-444xXx, xXxPhantomxXx, Alikhar, CaribbeanTrinidadian, Myadorabletetsuya, Heaven0Leigh, Zedax, Kuro-Maggie, clarit, CatVi, x10TIMEx, YamiAkane97, UnderdogHero, SeraphelArchangelaClaudia, Fumus000, AspergianStoryteller, NeitherSaneNorInsane, Chamcha, saizen24, ruda102, Day-DayRyoshka, Sakihinata, SilverGlowingLight, kt24072, Honeydee, Cheri, silverwolf027, xDarkxkurokox, Alice, W.Q, , sakunokishimori, Mae, Reader2013, and Aztia for reviewing!

Special thanks to: clarit, Day-DayRyoshka, Honeydee, Cheri, and Aztia for their wonderfully long reviews, which I love.

Now (dum dum dum) enter the suspects! (But first some Seirin perspective, by request)

* * *

This shouldn't be happening.

That was the collective thought going through everyone from Seirin's mind.

Until that morning, they'd all still been on Cloud Nine. All week, after winning Winter Cup, their spirits had been high. It was one of those good moods that just lasted and lasted, and made everything seem to go right. They'd officially had the week off from basketball, but had all come to practice everyday anyway. Their training had been light, and they'd done fun stuff afterward, like hang out at each other's houses, or hang out around the city.

Since winning the championship, something had subtly changed with the team, or perhaps it was that something had been changing all along and they'd only just realized it. But the difference was there and there wasn't any ignoring it now. They'd become a family. No matter what happened in the future or what came their way, they would always have each other to face it with them. They weren't just friends anymore. All their hard work, blood, sweat, and tears had formed bonds that went beyond those of a regular sports team. But they'd never expected to have to rely on those bonds for support so soon. It was so unfair that this had happened to Kuroko.

But no one in Seirin broke down, not like the members of the Generation of Miracles who were all on the verge of falling apart. It seemed like a paradox at first glance. The best and strongest players in the room were breaking at the seams and everywhere in between, while the weaker ones endured. But looking closer it made sense. Seirin had each other. The Generation of Miracles had very few people they could turn to. And they were being weighed down by guilt and regrets of their past. They were breaking under the weight of it. Seirin lent them strength where they could, but there was only so much they could do for most of them. Their personalities mostly weren't the types that allowed them to accept much help.

When Murasakibara came back and learned the news about Kuroko having a seizure, they weren't sure what to expect. The freshman trio was obviously scared of a violent reaction, but the opposite happened instead. Murasakibara seemed to shrink in on himself. He sat down silently and stared at the floor. He even ignored the snacks that Himuro tried to get him interested in.

Kagami didn't envy his brother. Taking care of a member of the Generation of Miracles seemed like a fulltime job, even at the best of times. At a time like this, it seemed far too soul draining for any normal person to handle. Takao, Momoi, Kasamatsu, and Himuro were all doing their best, but it was obvious that it was taking a toll on them. Kagami wondered how he'd be faring if the situation was reversed, and it was one of them in that hospital bed, connected to all those machines, and Kuroko waiting out here, drowning in guilt and angst.

But no, Kagami didn't think Kuroko would be as bad. He'd lucked out, getting the most level headed, even tempered, non-psychotic member of the Generation of Miracles as his partner. Of course, he'd also gotten the physically weakest. Right now Kagami wished he could have traded some of those good traits Kuroko had and gotten the kid a little bit more resilience. He hated how his partner was so fragile. And now this had happened.

The image of Kuroko's wide eyes so unfocused and terrified was hard to get out of his head. When he closed his eyes, Kagami could still see him convulsing and twitching spastically, while Aomine held onto him with a panicked look on his face.

"I should have been there."

He didn't realize he'd spoken out loud at first. Then Koganei said, "Uh, Kagami? We can't understand you when you speak English."

"What? Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking out loud."

"It's not your fault this happened, Taiga," Himuro said softly, also speaking English.

"I knew he had the resilience of a porcelain doll," Kagami said to his brother, in the same language. "I should have kept a better eye on him."

"You can't be everywhere at once. And you couldn't have known this was going to happen."

"I should have still been there! I should have known! He's my partner! I'm should be exactly where he needs me, when he needs me to be there and I failed epically!"

"Shut up Bakagami!" A paper fan was smashed over his head.

"Ouch! Hey!" Kagami scowled at Riko.

His coach scowled back at him. "I have the second highest scores in my grade, remember?" she asked, speaking English too, but with a terrible accent. "Of course I can understand what you're saying! And it's all . . . what's the word?"

"Bullshit?" Himuro supplied.

"Yes! Bullshit!" agreed Riko. "Are you an esper, Kagami? So you have some kind of magic powers telling you when Kuroko needs you? A Kuroko Spidey sense?"

Kagami stared at her, not having an answer for these rhetorical questions.

"Bad things happen, Kagami. And sometimes there's no way to stop them. That doesn't make it your fault." Riko's eyes watered and she angrily wiped her tears away. "It's no one here's fault."

"Right," Kagami switched back to Japanese and gave her a slight bow. "I'm sorry."

"Everything alright?" Kise asked.

"Yes. Please excuse my rudeness," said Kagami. He had the feeling that Midorima probably understood at least a little bit of what they'd been saying, but Aomine and Kise looked like they didn't know, and Murasakibara was just staring at the ground still. Akashi, had he been around, would probably have understood all of it.

* * *

It had been ten minutes since Murasakibara returned when Akashi came running back. Everyone stared at him in surprise. It was clear he'd run there from some ways, by the sweat on his face and his disheveled look.

"What do Tetsuya's basketball shoes look like?"

The question took everyone by surprise.

"Uh, they're white, with some light blue on them," said Kagami.

"And what size?" Akashi asked.

"Hell if I know. Some small size. Why?"

"Because a single basketball shoe matching that description, that I believe is Kuroko's size, was delivered to my residence just now," said Akashi, looking pale and sick. "And it was literally covered in blood."

"I don't think Kuroko had on shoes when I found him," said Kasamatsu. "I didn't think about it at the time but now . . . I'm sure he didn't have on his shoes."

"You said just one shoe was delivered to you, Akashi-kun?" asked Riko.

Akashi's expression grew darker. "Yes. Only one."

At that moment, Aomine's phone began ringing. He took it out and looked down at who was calling. Then he sent the call to voicemail.

"Answer that," Akashi ordered.

"Huh? But it says no talking on phones in the waiting room," said Aomine, pointing to a sign.

"I don't care, Daiki. Answer it," ordered Akashi.

"It was just my mom, and she hung up."

"Then call her back. Now."

Aomine obeyed.

"Mom, it's me. What did . . . what?" Aomine grew pale beneath his tan then looked at Akashi. "A package just arrived for me. And Mom says it's bleeding."

"Tell her not to touch it. I'm having someone go there now to take custody of it," said Akashi. He pulled out his phone and made a call.

Aomine relayed the order, then got off his phone, looking worried. "If this sick fuck is sending stuff to our houses . . ."

"Then he might try to make a move against your families?" asked Akashi. "I've forseen this already. I've arranged for their protection. It will be in place within the hour. For your teammates as well."

"Uh . . ."

"It's alright. The people I've hired are extremely good at their jobs, as well as unobtrusive. Most likely your friends and family won't even notice they're there," said Akashi.

"I was going to say isn't that extremely expensive?" said Aomine.

"Considering what's happening, it's a justifiable expense," Akashi said. "Kasamatsu-san?"

"Huh? Yeah?" Kasamatsu looked a bit surprised at being addressed.

"Can you think of anything else Tetsuya was missing when you found him?"

"Uh . . ." Kasamatsu tried to remember. "I don't . . . I think he had on socks, but I'm not positive. He was in gym clothes. They were kind of shredded, but he was fully dressed."

"Aka-chin thinks someone might have sent something of Kuro-chin's to Mido-chin, Kise-chin, and I too?" asked Murasakibara.

"That would be keeping in with the pattern," said Akashi. "If he hasn't sent you anything, then this could be extremely telling about who is responsible for this."

"How so?" Midorima asked.

"Tetsuya was left hanging in Kaijou's gym. He was obviously put there for Ryouta. That might have simply been because Ryouta, out of all of us, has shown the most open affection for Tetsuya, and therefore him finding Tetsuya like that was assumed it would cause the greatest amount of pain to one of us. Or it could have been for a more personal reason," said Akashi. "And sending Tetsuya's blood covered effects to Daiki and myself might actually support it being a more personal reason, if the person I'm beginning to suspect is behind this actually is."

"Haizaki," Aomine growled.

"He has the most reason to hate the three of us," said Akashi. "Ryouta for taking his place. You for stopping him when he wanted to go after Ryouta. And me for forcing him to quit the basketball club."

"That bastard! I will rip his lungs out!" Kagami shouted.

"We don't know it was him yet," Riko said, grabbing Kagami when he would have run out of the waiting room. "So don't go rushing off until we have some evidence!"

"What more evidence do you need?"

"Something that would hold up in court, how about?" Riko said angrily. "And then even if it was Haizaki, you should let the police deal with it! Kuroko wouldn't want you taking the law into your own hands. Any of you."

"What Tetsu doesn't know won't hurt him," Aomine said.

"We'll wait until we have conclusive proof," said Akashi with a sense of finality to his words. "I already have investigators looking into this, pulling prints off the package that the shoe was sent in, and determining the alibis of our major suspects. If those don't yield results, we will widen the net and find out where every player from every team we played against was when Kuroko was abducted. I will absolutely find out who did this. And then I will absolutely destroy him."

A shiver went through everyone gathered there. No one had the guts to say anything to refute Akashi's words. He may have reverted to his old, kinder self upon realizing that he was not absolute, and that his victory was not assured in everything in life, but that did not mean he was not still the most dangerous person in the room. Especially when what he cared about was threatened.

* * *

Ogiwara rubbed his bruised cheekbone and grimaced against the pain. It just wasn't his day. It hadn't been for a few days, in fact. It seemed like just one thing after another was going wrong. And he was not looking forward to what he was going to be doing next.

His stomach grumbled, and the sign of a convenience store caught his eye, so he made a detour into it. Anything to stave off what he had to do next.

He picked a sandwich and an apple, feeling more in the mood for Western style food. Plus it was easier to eat while he walked. Then he got in line at the check out. There was only one person in front of him, but there seemed to be some slight commotion or problem, and Ogiwara couldn't help but overhear.

"You're three yen short," the cashier said to the other customer, who was a very tall man with dyed black hair done in cornrows, with silver roots just showing.

"It's just three yen, man! Cut me a break here!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. It's against store policy."

"But it's just three yen!"

"Here," said Ogiwara, putting some money down on the counter.

"Dude, I don't want your fucking charity," the other customer said, and Ogiwara saw his face and realized with some surprise that despite his height, he wasn't much, if at all, older than Ogiwara himself was.

"It's not charity," Ogiwara told him. "It's paying it forward."

"What crap is that?"

"It's when someone helps you, instead of trying to pay them back, you help someone else and pay it forward," explained Ogiwara.

"Don't expect me to buy into some shit like that," the guy growled. "I'm not a nice person."

"Just because you're not nice in some ways doesn't mean you can't be nice in others," Ogiwara told him.

"The opposite of that is true too, you know. Just because you're a nice person in one way doesn't mean you're not a completely horrible person in others."

Ogiwara found it hard to meet the man's eyes after that remark. "I know. Believe me, I know. If you're finished, may I please check out now?"

The guy glared at him and took the thing he'd been buying off the counter. Ogiwara blushed slightly as he realized that the thing he'd just spotted the guy a couple yen for was a gravure magazine.

After paying for his food, Ogiwara left the store and started unwrapping his sandwich as he walked. He was tired and sore, and even though he wasn't really hungry, he knew he needed to eat or he'd feel even worse. And he needed his energy for what he was going to have to do.

He reached a corner and stood waiting for the light to change, when he realized he wasn't alone. The guy from the convenience store was standing next to him.

"You following me or something?" the guy asked, looking at him with annoyance.

"No. Why? Are you following me?" Ogiwara asked, unable to hold back a smile despite the dread he was feeling.

"Hell, no!"

"Then I guess we just happen to be going the same way. Hopefully I am going the right way. Do you know if this is the way to the Kanegawa hospital?"

The guy stiffened, then nodded. "You're going there? Why?"

"Visiting . . . an old friend."

"I'm going there too. You can tag along if you want. As thanks for earlier."

"In that case, I'll find my own way, but thanks," said Ogiwara.

"What the hell?"

"I told you, I was paying it forward," said Ogiwara. "I'd rather you do the same than pay me back."

"God, you're an annoying little punk."

"So I've been told."

The light changed. Ogiwara hurried ahead of the other guy so that he wouldn't be following him, and continued down the path that the directions he'd gotten off the net said were the right way. Once he almost started down the wrong way, but a voice behind him called, "Wrong way, moron! Go right!"

"Oh. Thanks," Ogiwara said, and changed directions.

When he saw the hospital with his own eyes, he picked up speed to the point where he was almost jogging.

"Hi, I'm here to see Kuroko Tetsuya," he said to the receptionist at the front desk. "Can you tell me what room he's in, please?"

The woman typed the name into her computer. "Can you tell me your name and relationship to the patient?"

"I'm his childhood friend, Ogiwara Shigehiro," Ogiwara said. "His parents are out of the country, but they contacted me and let me know when they learned he was here. They asked me to come."

"Hm, the doctors have recommended that family only be admitted, but if he has no family available, we can make an exception, as long as Kuroko-san himself has no objections," the receptionist said.

"Has he woken up?" Ogiwara asked. He found himself fearing the answer.

"He has. I don't have access to his complete file, but the patient has regained consciousness, it seems." She read off his room number and floor for Ogiwara who thanked her then turned to go.

"Oh!" He cried as he almost ran into the guy from the convenience store. "Oh, sorry."

"Watch where you're going, asshole!"

"Sure, sure. Sorry!" Ogiwara continued on his way, nonplussed. If anything, he felt pity for the guy behind him. He was clearly here to visit someone too. And he seemed to know where he was going better than Ogiwara still, since he didn't bother talking to the receptionist, but went straight to the elevator that Ogiwara was getting into. "What floor?"

"Four."

"Hm, same as me," Ogiwara said, and punched the number.

It seemed that they were visiting people in the same general area, since when they got out of the elevator, the guy went in the same direction as Ogiwara.

Before long, the hallway opened up into a waiting room, where a surprising number of people were gathered. Ogiwara stopped suddenly as he realized that just about every color of the rainbow was represented in peoples' hair colors. And that he was looking at his old enemies, the Generation of Miracles.

His fist clenched involuntarily. He guessed he should have expected to see them here. He'd thought about it, but he hadn't been sure they'd come. There were a lot of other people there too, most of whom were considerably shorter than the taller members of the Generation of Miracles. Ogiwara wondered who they were. Were they here to see Kuroko too? Wait, why were the Generation ofMiracles out in the waiting room? Had the doctors let some of Kuroko's other friends into his room and only a few were allowed in at a time?

Well, Ogiwara wasn't going to ask the Generation of Miracles to find out, that was for sure. He'd go to Kuroko's room. If he had to wait his turn, fine, but if he didn't, even better. And if he could see Kuroko alone, perfect. He wanted as little to do with the Generation of Miracles as possible. This was ultimately all their fault anyway.

He started to walk across the waiting room, to the hall on the other side of it, but as he stepped into the actual waiting room part, the blonde from the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta looked up at him and made a startled, but angry sound. That drew everyone else's gaze toward him too. The next thing he knew, all of the Miracles, a tall redhead who wasn't one of them, and a dark haired guy with one eye covered by his hair were all on their feet, glaring at him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" the blue haired Miracle, Aomine shouted.

Ogiwara took a step back in shock. He hadn't expected a warm welcome from them. But he hadn't expected this much hostility either, considering hadn't expected them to even remember him. But maybe they knew what he'd done. He hadn't considered them finding out.

"Why wouldn't I be here, Daiki?" said the guy from the convenience store with a sneer, surprising Ogiwara. "If anything, it's a surprise that you're here. Shouldn't you be lazing around somewhere, giving up on life?"

Aomine gave a dangerous sounding growl. "Shut up, Haizaki. And give me one good reason why I shouldn't smash in your face."

* * *

I posted another one shot fic earlier this evening called Puppy Love, about Aomine finding Nigou on a streetball court and taking him to Touo for practice, without knowing he belongs to Kuroko. Please go check it out too!

And please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to: Heaven0Leigh, suicune4ever, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, ChordOverstreetFan, Starian NightZz, UnderdogHero, SadisticPrincess13, BrokenWings2602, Kuro-Maggie, Monkey D. Writer, Sakihinata, Kurosaki Yukia, Chamcha, kh07gl, clarit, ruda102, Shion Amamiya, x10TIMEx, mirai aria, Honeydee, maybundalian, silverwolf027, Kiru-Kiru Chan, Sayuri, Honeydee (again, lol), YamiAkane97, Vuurvlieg, sparklybutterfly42, CrimsonQueen24, Aztia, Wings of Galileo, Claerine, Ramaxy18-chan, sakunokishimori, tecnicalKnockout, HipsterL, Bakashi, and the Guest who reviewed

Double thanks to Aztia for the super long review, sakunokishimori for the helpful constructive criticism, and tecnicalKnockout who just started reading but left in depth reviews for every chapter.

* * *

In a better time, Kagami might have felt a little sorry for the poor random guy who'd walked into the waiting room right before Haizaki, who'd gotten freaked out thinking all these people he didn't know were ganging up on him. But now was not a good enough time for him to be worried about people he didn't know. He barely paid attention as the random guy stared at Haizaki for a few seconds, then made his way across the waiting room, past all of Seirin, the Generation of Miracles, and their friends. Almost all of them were standing now, glaring at Haizaki.

"That's pretty rude, Daiki," said Haizaki with a leer. "Tetsuya wouldn't be happy hearing you make threats like that. You know how much the little midget dislikes violence."

"What are you doing here, Haizaki?" Akashi said in a tone that could not be ignored.

"I came to visit, obviously," said Haizaki. "So has the runt woke up yet?"

"How did you know what happened?" demanded Akashi, ignoring his question.

"I don't like your tone there. Are you accusing me of something?" asked Haizaki with a smirk.

"Are you confessing?" returned Akashi.

"Not to you," said Haizaki. "But maybe to her."

There was a moment of confusion as they all tried to figure out who the her he was talking about was. But then Haizaki held up a magazine he'd brought with him, on which the cover featured a woman dressed as a scantily clad nun.

"You don't confess to nuns, dumbass, you confess to priests," said Kagami. "Now answer us straight! Did you do this to Kuroko or didn't you?"

"If you have to ask, I'm guessing he hasn't woken up yet to tell you himself," said Haizaki.

"Why are you here? And don't give me that BS that you're just visiting him," said Aomine angrily.

"Maybe I just came to see Ryouta's crying face, ever think of that?" asked Haizaki. "Looking at those red eyes of yours, I can tell you've been bawling like a bitch. I'm sorry I missed the show."

"Fuck you, Haizaki," growled Kise, with uncharacteristic hate and barely suppressed rage.

"I'll ask you one more time," said Akashi. "And then I'll let Atsushi crush your head like a melon. Why. Are. You. Here?"

Haizaki smirked at their anger. "What? Can't a guy come and visit an old friend?"

"Tetsu was never your friend," Aomine said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Tetsuya was always my friend," Haizaki returned. "Mine and everyone else's. It's more accurate to say I was never his friend. But really, neither were any of you. If you had been, he wouldn't be here now, would he?"

Murasakibara made a move like he was going to grab Haizaki but Himuro stopped him.

"Don't, Atsushi."

"Want to crush."

"You know, I didn't expect hugs and warm welcomes, but I didn't expect blatant stupidity either," said Haizaki. "What makes you think I'd do something like this to Tetsuya?"

"Considering when we first met, you were holding my teacher off the ground by her throat? Gee, I really have no idea," said Kagami.

"Bitch deserved what she got, having boobs that big and hanging around a loser like your friend there."

"Fuck you."

"All the same, has it occurred to you that I might not hate Tetsuya the way I hate you dicks in the Generation of Miracles? I might not have been a friend to him, but he was the only one on the whole damn team who acted like a friend to me."

"I notice that you don't include Tetsuya amongst the Generation of Miracles," said Akashi, his voice as cold as ice.

"That's right. Like I said. He wasn't a dick."

"So why did you go after him like this?" asked Akashi.

Haizaki smirked. "Who says I did? Obviously he didn't."

Akashi glared at him.

"Well, I can see I'm not welcome here. And obviously the brat's not awake, or else Satsuki would be trying to smother him with her boobs."

"Don't talk about her like that!" shouted Aomine.

"I think I'll leave for now," Haizaki said. "But one question first. Is there a doctor or someone in the room with Tetsuya right now? Or is he alone?"

"What's it to you?" Midorima asked coldly.

"Well, I was just wondering if someone's going to kick that guy who just walked past all of you, and onward toward Tetsuya's room out once he gets there, or if he's just going to be there alone, and allowed to do whatever he wants," said Haizaki.

"What are you talking about?"

"You remember that guy who came in ahead of me? The one with the bruised face? Well he was here to see Tetsuya too. And he looks like he's been in a fight with someone. If you're looking for likely suspects for who did this, don't you think he's more likely than me?"

Before he finished speaking, Aomine was already running toward Kuroko's room with Kise and Kiyoshi right behind him. Kagami looked like he wanted to follow them, but didn't want to leave his team and brother with someone as dangerous as Haizaki standing right here. His indecision showed on his face for just a second, then melted away. He trusted Kiyoshi and Kise, and even Aomine, to remove any dangerous intruders from Kuroko's room. If that guy was a danger. Meanwhile, he'd stay here and guard his friend from the very definite danger right in front of him.

"Thank you for alerting us to this interloper's presence, however late your warning was," said Akashi and his voice was like a cold wind that chilled everyone in the room to the bone. "Didn't you say you were leaving?"

Haizaki smirked. "I'll be in touch. Tell Tetsuya for me, will you?"

"I'll consider it," said Akashi, but everyone could tell from his tone that he would do no such thing.

* * *

It wasn't hard for Ogiwara to find Kuroko's room. It was empty when he arrived, other than Kuroko. His childhood friend was strapped down to the hospital bed for some reason, with about a million machines hooked up to him. Kuroko himself didn't look good at all. His skin so pale, and marred with so many purplish bruises, a cast on one arm, lots of bandages, and lots of tubes connecting him to those machines. His life was clearly fragile.

Ogiwara stood beside his bed, staring down at him. It was hard for him to figure out what he was feeling, seeing Kuroko like this. He didn't know what to say either. He guessed it was a good thing Kuroko was unconscious.

This was harder than he'd thought it would be. Much harder. Ogiwara stared at the machines Kuroko was attached to then back at his childhood friend. Then he slowly started to reach toward Kuroko.

_"Get away from him!"_

The shout took Ogiwara by surprise, and he froze his hand hovering just over Kuroko's face. Then he was grabbed and slammed against the wall.

_"Touch him and I will fucking kill you!"_ Aomine spit in his face like a mad dog.

"Dude, what's your problem?" demanded Ogiwara.

Kise shouldered his way in and grabbed Ogiwara's hand, twisting it into some kind of martial arts grip. Pain exploded up Ogiwara's arm, bringing him to his knees.

"Ouch!"

"Did you do this to Kurokocchi?" asked Kise, his eyes as cold as ice.

"What? Are you crazy? And why are you adding 'cchi' to his name?"

"Answer my question, won't you?"

"Hey, hey, stop you two," said a newcomer, who'd been in the waiting room, but that Ogiwara didn't recognize. One of Kuroko's new teammates maybe? He was tall enough to be a basketball player. Or maybe he was just a friend.

"When I got here he was standing over Tetsu reaching for his air mask," growled Aomine.

"I was going to brush his hair back," said Ogiwara through gritted teeth. "Maybe you don't know him very well but his bedhead is horrible!"

"Who are you to say I don't know him? He was my best friend in middle school!"

"And he was my best friend in elementary school," growled Ogiwara. At the newcomer's urgings, Kise had let go of Ogiwara. The tall newcomer gave Ogiwara a hand up off the ground, which Ogiwara wasn't too proud to accept.

"Are you Ogiwara Shige?" the tall man asked.

"Ogiwara Shigehiro," Ogiwara said, giving his full name, surprised that this person knew him at all.

"You know him, Kiyoshi?" asked Kise.

"He's Kuroko's childhood friend," said Kiyoshi. "I never met him, but I recognize him by Kuroko's description. It's the crumbs around his mouth that give him away."

Ogiwara wiped his mouth self consciously. Normally he didn't really care about his appearance, but when in the presence of his hated enemies, he wanted to keep a little dignity.

"Where'd you get that bruise on your face, Ogiwara?" asked Aomine.

"Falling into a rail at the train station," said Ogiwara. "After I got a call from Kuroko's parents, I got here as fast as I could."

"Kurokocchi's parents called you?" asked Kise skeptically.

"That's what I said."

"Mind if we check your phone to see if that's true?"

Ogiwara glared at Kise. "As a matter of fact, yes, I do mind. Why the hell would I lie about that?"

"Because the police couldn't get ahold of Kurokocchi's parents since they're overseas."

"In Australia. I know. But they got ahold of his grandmother, who called them, and they called me," said Ogiwara. "Why am I explaining this to you?"

"Hey, what's going on in here?" asked an orderly sticking her head into the room. "The doctors wanted this room kept clear for now. No visitors."

"Sorry, we're leaving," said Kiyoshi. "We were just worried and wanted to make sure Kuroko was alright."

The orderly nodded looking sympathetic. "Your friend had a seizure. He was conscious for a few minutes after his seizure and seemed cognitive, but then dozed off. Sleep is the best thing for him now, so the doctors gave him something to keep him under for awhile."

"But he knew who he was?" asked Aomine. "He doesn't have amnesia?"

"We didn't get to ask him very much. We'll do a more thorough evaluation when he wakes up next if we can."

"He didn't say who hurt him?" Aomine asked.

"We didn't get a chance to ask. If he remains stable, the doctors may allow visitors again soon, but for now you need to leave. I'm sorry."

"Right. We're going."

Ogiwara pulled away from the others and reached out to touch Kuroko's hand quickly. He was aware of their gazes on him, and knew he would be tackled immediately if he made any wrong movements.

"I'll be back, Kuroko. That's a promise," Ogiwara said, then turned back around. He saw Aomine glaring at him with hate and suspicion. Kise was sending out untrusting vibes. Only Kiyoshi didn't look ready to kill him at a moment's notice.

"Come on. Let's go back to the waiting room. The others will want an update on Kuroko. And my team will want to meet you, Ogiwara-kun."

Kiyoshi put an arm around Ogiwara's shoulders. The gesture would have usually been overly familiar since they'd just met, but Ogiwara didn't feel like it was that way now. It was more like Kiyoshi was both being protective of him and showing the Miracles that he trusted him. Because he believed Ogiwara was Kuroko's friend. Guilt rose in Ogiwara's stomach as he sent a backwards glance at Kuroko.

* * *

"Seirin. Everyone. This is Kuroko's childhood friend Ogiwara Shigehiro," announced Kiyoshi as they arrived back in the waiting room. "Let's get along well with him."

Everyone had been on edge when they arrived back. Haizaki had left, Aomine saw, and was glad for that, but his spirit seemed to linger on, polluting the room with bad vibes.

But at the introduction of Ogiwara, all of Seirin visibly relaxed. That didn't make any sense to Aomine. Their reaction baffled him. They didn't know this guy, who suspiciously had a bruise on his face like he'd been in a fight, yet just learning his name made them trust him? Aomine saw that most of his former team didn't seem to understand this either. Midorima looked perplexed. Murasakibara didn't seem to care. But Akashi looked like he might know more than he was saying. His expression was brooding and suspicious. Then Momoi gave a slight gasp and blurted out, "Oh!"

"What's wrong, Satsuki?" demanded Aomine. "You know this guy?"

He was hoping Momoi would say something that would give him grounds to throw this guy out.

"You're from that one time," said Satsuki. "Back when –"

"Yeah," said Ogiwara. "That was a long time ago."

"How do you know him?" asked Midorima, looking on edge. Aomine was glad to see it wasn't just him.

"Um, hello? You all know him," said Takao. "Or at least you should."

"Hey, you guys. Stop grilling Kuroko's friend," spoke up one of Seirin's freshmen. Fukuda, Aomine thought he was, but wasn't positive. It looked like it was taking all his courage to speak up, but he didn't look like he was going to back down.

"Yeah," said another freshman. The one who'd been petrified at the mere sight of Akashi. But like his yearmate, he seemed to have found some kind of greater courage. "Stop treating him like that."

"You can sit with us, Ogiwara-kun," said the other freshman with the shaved head. He moved over on the bench to make room.

Aomine shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, suddenly feeling like the bad guy. Again. He didn't want to be that person anymore, but he couldn't just accept that someone from Kuroko's past who he'd never even heard of was showing up out of the blue with a bruised face like he'd been in a fight, and making wild claims about how he knew to come here.

"Who is he? Why does Momoicchi know him? Why should we know him?" demanded Kise, saying exactly what Aomine wanted to say.

"Please answer, Takao," said Midorima. "How should we know him?"

"We met him at our third middle school championships," said Akashi before Takao could say anything. "He was our final opponent."

Aomine stared. He didn't know what to say. This guy was one of the people they'd hurt? And he was Kuroko's friend?

"Oh! Kurokocchi's friend on that team," said Kise. "The one that . . ."

"Yes. The one whose behalf he was so upset for," said Akashi, casting his gaze downward. "And rightfully so."

"Do we really have to bring that up?" asked Ogiwara as he sat down among Seirin's freshmen. "I didn't come here for that crap. I only came here to see Kuroko."

"I know Kuroko will be happy to see you when he wakes up, Ogiwara-kun," said Riko. "He thinks very highly of you."

Ogiwara looked . . . guilty. Yes, he definitely looked like he was feeling guilty about something. Aomine looked at Akashi to make sure he as seeing this too, and was annoyed to see his former captain still staring at the floor. He kicked Akashi's foot, and when Akashi looked up, motioned toward Ogiwara. He saw Akashi's expression change as he noticed the same thing Aomine had. But Akashi didn't pursue the topic. At least not now. Aomine guessed he was feeling guilty too. But that still begged the question, just what was Ogiwara feeling guilty about?

* * *

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to Heaven0Leigh, ruda102, Sakihinata, BrokenWings2602, xXxPhantomxXx, tecnicalKnockout, Chamcha, UnderdogHero, TheReihani, sparklybutterfly42, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, clarit, akashiseijuurou, YamiAkane97, Ehmm, LaLunaLight, Monkey D. Writer, Shion Amamiya, chunminie, x10TIMEx, Finn Oxenstierna, Honeydee, Aztia, uiop, hokkyokukou, SeraphelArchangelaClaudia, Guest-kcr, chibidumpling1198 for reviewing!

Double thanks to tecnicalKnockout, clarit, Honeydee, and Aztia for the extra long reviews!

* * *

Awkward silence filled the waiting room for the next hour. Some attempts were made at conversations, mainly by Seirin, but they all fizzled out. No more news came about Kuroko's condition.

"Ryouta," said Akashi, after an extended period of silence. "Kasamatsu-san? When was the last time the two of you ate?"

"I don't know," Kise admitted.

"Sometime this morning," said Kasamatsu, looking like food was the last thing he cared about.

"Shintarou, Daiki, and everyone from Seirin, I take it your answer is the same?"

There were some grudging nods.

"It's past dinner time now. You should go eat."

"I'm not hungry," said Kagami. "And I'd rather stay here."

"You need to eat. All of you," said Akashi. "This is stressful enough without you wearing your bodies down with hunger on top of everything."

"I said I'm not hungry," Kagami said stubbornly. "I'm staying here."

"Tetsuya will be worried if when he wakes up, he finds out that you've been hospitalized for exhaustion because you collapsed because of hunger."

"You trying to start a fight?"

"He's right, Kagami," said Riko. She stood and stretched, wincing a bit since she'd been seated so long.

"We can't just all get up and leave! What if there's news about Kuroko's condition?" said Kagami.

"We'll split into two groups," said Riko. "One stays here while the other grabs some food and checks in with their parents, and whatever else they need to do."

"I'm in the one staying here," said Kagami flatly.

"Then they switch, and the ones who stayed here go and get out of this place for a little bit," said Riko.

"I'm not –"

"You are!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" said Kagami angrily. "Not until I know Kuroko's alright and that whoever did this to him is rotting in jail. And especially not while Haizaki is lying around here like a snake in the grass."

"We'll keep enough people here to make certain we can deal with Haizaki, if he becomes a problem," said Akashi.

"Haizaki was the guy with the corn rows?" asked Ogiwara, looking awkward.

"That's right," Akashi said neutrally.

"And you think he did this to Kuroko?"

"He is one of our suspects."

"Where's your proof?"

"If we had proof, I would have had him arrested by now," said Akashi. "In the meantime, all we can do is make sure that Tetsuya is safe from anyone who might wish him harm."

Ogiwara glared at that remark. "I can't believe you think I did this."

"No one thinks that," said Riko placatingly.

"They all think that." There was no need for Ogiwara to elaborate on who they were. None of the Generation of Miracles had been remotely friendly to him. The only one who hadn't regarded him with suspicion was Murasakibara, who'd been lost in his own world.

"No one from Seirin thinks that," said Kiyoshi.

"Why is that?" asked Midorima. "Why do you trust him so much when you'd never met him before?"

"Obviously because Kuroko has good taste in friends," said Izuki.

"You do know he was friends with –"

"He was never really friends with Haizaki," said Kagami.

"I was going to say us," finished Akashi.

"We didn't say he didn't pick lunatics as friends," said Koganei, "But I can't see him being friends with someone who would do this to him or anyone else."

"He's pretty good at seeing who people are deep inside," agreed Izuki.

"But that's not exactly true, is it?" asked Ogiwara darkly.

Akashi stared hard at him. "Please explain what you mean."

The look Ogiwara gave him was both scathing and self depreciating. "You of all people should already know what I mean. In fact, all you so called Miracles should."

"Mind playing catch up for Seirin?" asked Koganei.

"Overall, Kuroko had horrible taste in friends," said Ogiwara. "He was friends with them, after all. And he was friends with me. It's my fault Kuroko's lying in that hospital bed right now just as much as it's theirs."

"How is that?" demanded Kagami in a dangerous voice.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ogiwara asked, his temper and voice rising.

"No, it's not," said Aomine, "but you're going to explain it to us right now. Are you admitting to doing this to Tetsu?"

"I might as well have," said Ogiwara, glaring dangerously at them. "I left him with the lot of you."

"What do you mean to say?" demanded Midorima.

"Hey Generation of Miracles! How does it feel? Do you think someone carved that into my childhood friend's skin on a whim?" shouted Ogiwara. "Whoever did that was trying to get back at all of _you_! It's _your_ fault they went after Kuroko!"

The silence that followed that shout was like thunder. The air was even charged with electricity because of it, since the same thoughts had been going through all their minds, back and forth, again and again. Their friends tried to talk them out of those beliefs, and at times they were even able to believe for a little bit that it wasn't their fault, but there was no way to erase those guilty thoughts from their minds when the wounds were still so raw. Hearing them voiced so plainly was physically painful.

"W-we didn't know that they'd. . ." Kise looked like he was going to start crying. Akashi wanted to say something to either refute Ogiwara's words, or comfort Kise and the rest of his team, but his mind was still too stunned.

"This isn't their fault," said an unexpected voice. Everyone looked at Kagami, who was looking at Ogiwara with disappointment of all expressions on his face. "It's not your fault either. So stop lashing out in pain, just to try and hurt them. You shouldn't do that to people who your friends care about."

Ogiwara faltered slightly. He had a hard time meeting Kagami's steadfast gaze. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"You did. This isn't their fault, or your fault. This is the fault of whoever did this to Kuroko," said Kagami. His voice wasn't actually angry, but it wasn't over patient either. "No one else."

"If they hadn't –"

"There is no excuse for beating anyone until they're brain damaged, then mutilating them," said Kagami, and now he did sound angry, no furious. "No matter what they're angry about, there's not a fucking excuse in the world for that. This didn't happen because the Generation of Miracles were a bunch of dicks back in middle school, or because you severed ties with Kuroko. This happened because someone is a miserable excuse for a human being!"

"He's right," agreed Kiyoshi. "It's not any of your faults. Please don't blame them, Ogiwara-kun. And please stop blaming yourself too."

Ogiwara's eyes shimmered. He clenched his fists. Guilt was practically seeping out of his pores like miasma. "Even if you're letting them off the hook, there's no excuses that can be made for what I did."

"What did you do?" asked Izuki. "What are you talking about?"

"I already told you. I abandoned him when I knew he needed me," said Ogiwara. "Kuroko told you too, didn't he? I cut our ties when he needed me the most. Even knowing he has abandonment issues, and knowing how terrified he is of being alone_,_ I severed all our ties. I gave him no choice but to go crawling back to those monsters who pretended to be his friends."

"Alright, that's _enough_," Kasamatsu started to growl, but Takao cut him off.

"They're not monsters," Takao said adamantly. "And they're definitely not pretending to be his friend. Anyone with eyes can see how much they care about Kuroko."

"Ogiwara-kun, there's something you should know," said Riko. "Kuroko doesn't see what happened as you abandoning him."

"How could he not?"

"He sees it as him having failed you. He believes he hurt you so badly that he drove you away. He blames himself for what happened. And only himself." Riko added that last part with a significant look at the Generation of Miracles.

"But I'm the one who left without a word and cut ties with him," said Ogiwara, looking like she'd slapped him.

"Ogiwara?" spoke up Kise again. "I'm sorry, but . . . what exactly happened between you and Kurokocchi?"

Ogiwara's defenses went back up and he glared at the golden haired miracle. "You mean your captain never told you?"

"I don't think Akashi-kun knew the full story, Ogiwara-kun," said Riko.

"But Kuroko –"

"Never told him. Not about the promise you two made. That's what Kuroko told us," said Riko.

Ogiwara shrugged angrily. "Whether he knew or not doesn't actually make that much difference. It doesn't change what happened. It doesn't even change the reasons that it happened. They wanted to crush mine and Kuroko's friendship. And I let them."

There was a notable flinch from Murasakibara at Ogiwara's word choice.

"Oh. You're talking about what happened in that last game," said Midorima. "You believe we fixed the score like that to sabotage your friendship with Kuroko."

"That's not true," said Kise quickly. "We didn't even know Kurokocchi had a friend on Meiko's team."

"I did," said Akashi.

"Oh. That's right."

"The others aren't guilty of what you're accusing them of," said Akashi defeatedly. "That guilt lies with me alone. They didn't deliberately destroy your friendship with Tetsuya. That was only me."

"Except that's not true, Akashicchi," said Kise immediately. "Remember what we said after we found out Kurokocchi had a friend on the team we just beat? We said we would have done the same thing."

"You can't feel guilty for something you might have done, Ryouta," said Akashi.

"There's no might have about it," said Aomine darkly. "You can't shoulder the guilt for this alone, Akashi."

"We were all terrible then," said Midorima, sounding ashamed. "We were different people . . . no, that's no excuse for us. We . . . we weren't . . ."

Murasakibara stood up, drawing everyone's attention to him. The look in his eyes was impossible to read as he moved to stand right in front of Ogiwara. Ogiwara tensed, looking a little alarmed. All of Seirin was a little bit afraid. If Murasakibara tried to attack Ogiwara, it was going to be extremely hard to stop him.

"Hey, hey," said Kiyoshi getting to his feet, so that he could more easily stand between them if Murasakibara attacked. But Murasakibara did nothing of the sort.

Instead the purple haired giant bowed very low to Ogiwara and stayed in that position. "I'm very sorry. For hurting you. And crushing your friendship with Kuro-chin. Please . . . please don't stop being friends with Kuro-chin. We - _I_ hurt him in too many other ways. Please don't let this keep being one of them. Please get along with Kuro-chin again."

"Th-That's why I'm here," said Ogiwara. It was hard to tell what he was feeling from his voice. "You don't have to bow to me like that just to ask me to do something I came here for anyway."

"I'm also bowing because I'm sorry," said Murasakibara, still in his bow. "Because I am. Very sorry."

"W-we're all sorry," said Kise. He stood too. Then the others from the Generation of Miracles did, without any prompting or cues from anyone. As one, Kise, Aomine, Midorima, and even Akashi all bowed just as low to Ogiwara as Murasakibara was.

Ogiwara stared at them, eyes practically bulging. It was clear that he had never expected this turn of events. He didn't even know what to do or say now. For several seconds, he just stared at them in shock. He opened and closed his mouth several times, then finally decided on what he wanted to say.

"H-hey. Have you guys ever seen Kuroko laugh?"

The Generation of Miracles all straightened out of their bows and as one hesitated as they thought it over. They looked at each other, gave slight shakes of their heads, and it was Aomine who'd been closest to Kuroko who finally spoke their answer. "No. We haven't."

Ogiwara gave a slightly sad smile. "I thought not. I guess I'm still the only person who can manage that trick. Well . . . when he wakes up, I'll show it to you. What Kuroko looks like when he laughs."

It was an olive branch, they all realized. No, it was better than an olive branch.

"I'd like that," said Aomine.

"We all would," Akashi said, smiling slightly.

"Thank you," whispered Murasakibara. Midorima went back to sit down beside Takao, looking relieved.

"Hey, hey, I bet Kurokocchi's got an adorable laugh," said Kise, looking like he was caught between laughing and crying at that moment, but like he didn't care. "Doesn't he? He does, doesn't he?"

Ogiwara took out his phone and started scrolling through some options. Then he handed it to Kise. On the screen was a grainy picture of Ogiwara and Kuroko in elementary school. The quality was low since it was older, and the picture had bad resolution, but they could just make out an unfamiliar expression on Kuroko's face.

"It's better in real life. This is a scan of a picture my mom took of us like forever ago. I never got a recording of the sound. I never even thought to. But maybe I will this time," said Ogiwara. He stood. "There're some other pictures of Kuroko in the gallery. You can look at them. And whatever else you want on there. I'm going to the bathroom."

"Kagami, go with him," ordered Riko.

"What? Coach, that's just weird," complained Kagami.

"I don't need a chaperone," said Ogiwara, giving them a weird look.

"Haizaki's still around. You're not really going to let one of Kuroko's friends wander around alone with that guy around, are you Kagami?" asked Riko.

"He didn't do anything to me before," said Ogiwara. "He has no reason to now."

"All the same, we're Seirin. We look after our own. Which means we look after the people who matter to them," said Riko. "And that includes you."

Ogiwara gave a resigned nod. Kagami still looked annoyed.

"We'll let you stay here at the hospital instead of leaving the premises for dinner if you do this, and if you go for a walk after we all get back," bargained Riko.

That got Kagami to go along with it.

"Check his call log," said Aomine the moment the two were gone.

Kise hesitated. "That seems like a breach of trust."

"Dude, he gave you permission. If there really are calls from Kuroko's parents then we know he was telling the truth, and he's not as much of a suspect."

Kise still hesitated.

Akashi took the choice from him by taking the phone from his grasp and flicking to the phone's call log. Sure enough, the record of a call from a contact labeled "Kuroko's Mama" was in the log. There was even record of an outgoing call to a contact labeled "Kuroko's Granny," immediately after. In addition, there were records of several dozen texts that confirmed his alibi for that morning and the night before, in the form of a text conversation. From it, Akashi learned that Ogiwara was in his high school's cooking club now, and there'd been some sort of minor crisis in regards to a bake sale they were planning for their culture festival, but thanks to some quick thinking on Ogiwara's part, it had gotten sorted out. Akashi memorized the numbers so he could text them to his private investigators. They would be easy enough to check out, and once they were, Akashi could officially rule out Ogiwara as a suspect.

He was surprised to find himself looking forward to being able to do that. Ogiwara was . . . he was a nice guy. Akashi felt genuine guilt about what he'd done to the other teen, and about what he'd done to Ogiwara and Kuroko's friendship. If there was one good thing that came out of this whole mess with Kuroko getting hurt, then hopefully it would be the restoration of that friendship.

* * *

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to: Heaven0Leigh, Myadorabletetsuya, Fumus000, HPFREAK1999, Honeydee, Sleix, chibidumpling1198, BrokenWings2602, tecnicalKnockout, Chamcha, Lucky Guard, clarit, PiWrite, UnderdogHero, Sakihinata, xXxOtAkU 444xXx, Aztia, xXxPhantomxXx, chunminie, sparklybutterfly42, x10TIMEx, sakunokishimori, Cherien, FictionSpark, Amywxue, and BashyBunny

Double thanks to: Cherien, chunminie, Aztia, tecnicalKnockout, and BrokenWings2602 for your wonderfully long reviews

* * *

Kagami returned only a minute later, looking both annoyed and worried. "I lost him."

"What?" Everyone stared.

"I didn't even turn my back," spluttered Kagami. "One second I was talking to him, and he was right beside me! Then the next he was gone! He's like Kuroko Version 2 or something!"

"What should we do, Coach?" asked Izuki. "Go look for him?"

Riko considered then looked at Kiyoshi. "What do you think?"

"Hm." Kiyoshi considered then grinned. "I say we let him be."

"What? But Haizaki's still around. He might attack him or something," protested Koganei.

"Some of us could help you look for him," Aomine offered, looking at the others of the Generation of Miracles, who nodded confirmation. All except Akashi who was looking thoughtful.

"I think he's up to something," said Kiyoshi. "Nothing bad. I trust him, as Kuroko's friend. But he wouldn't have given Kagami the slip without a reason."

"Whatever he's planning most likely involves Haizaki," Akashi said. "You're really alright with him putting himself at risk?"

"Of course I don't want him getting hurt," said Kiyoshi, "but we are in a hospital. If he shouts, someone will come running, and there is security to deal with Haizaki."

"You're right. There's a limit to the amount of damage Haizaki is capable of dealing out in such a short amount of time," said Akashi.

"I don't want Haizaki dealing any damage to him at all," said Aomine, looking unconvinced. "Don't we owe it to Tetsu to keep his friend safe, now of all times?"

"Aka-chin? How likely do you think it is that Haizaki did this to Kuro-chin?" asked Murasakibara.

"Right now, he's our most likely suspect," said Akashi. He looked down at his phone, which he'd been receiving and sending messages on throughout the day. "My investigators haven't been able to confirm an alibi for him during the time frame where Tetsuya went missing, and ended up in Kaijou's gym. They have, however, confirmed that Haizaki has access to his father's car. Whoever did this had their own transportation. They couldn't bring Tetsuya to Kaijou in the condition he was in on a bus or train. Moreover, this was done by someone strong. It's not easy to hang someone from a basketball hoop, even if they are slight of build like Tetsuya."

"What about that . . . those packages," Aomine asked, looking sick at the memory.

"They've been turned over to the police. Prints have been pulled off them, but there are no matches in the system. And Haizaki's prints aren't in the system for comparison. Neither are those of our other main suspects. Only a few players on the long list of enemies we made have their prints in the system, so we've been able to rule out a few people," Akashi said, "but none of them were viable suspects to begin with."

"So Hanamiya and those twins are still on the list with Haizaki?" asked Koganei.

"Yes."

Aomine stood. "So Haizaki's in the top four suspects, and we're just letting Ogiwara run around near him doing whatever he wants? I don't like that. I'm going to find him."

"Daiki."

Aomine froze. Everyone braced themselves for whatever was coming next. No one was sure how Aomine would react to an order from his former captain, if Akashi forbid him from going.

"Remember, if it comes to blows, the same attack won't work well against Haizaki a second time."

Aomine smirked and nodded.

* * *

After procuring two Styrofoam cups of coffee from the hospital cafeteria, Ogiwara sought out his target. The coffee had cooled considerably before he found Haizaki, lounging in a first floor waiting room. Somehow he managed to look bored and anxious at the same time.

"Oh. It's you," he said when Ogiwara sat down in the seat beside him. "I see you avoided death at the hands of the legendary Generation of Miracles."

"So you were the one who sicked them on me," said Ogiwara. He'd suspected as much, though he hadn't asked anyone from Seirin or the Generation of Miracles. But someone had told them he was on his way to Kuroko's room. "Is that how you pay things forward?"

"I'm not doing your stupid pay it forward thing –"

"Respect it!" Ogiwara shouted.

Everyone in the waiting room looked at him in surprise. He gave an embarrassed smile and a wave, then handed Haizaki a cup of coffee.

"Sorry. Here, I brought this for you."

Haizaki stared at him. "You're one weird dude."

"So are you," Ogiwara returned. "You came here to visit a hospitalized friend, but you stopped in a convenience store and to a gravure mag first. What kind of priorities are those?"

"Hey, I needed something to pass the time."

"Then you didn't say anything when you met some other random person on his way to visit the same friend as you. Instead, you picked a fight with all the people in the waiting room, then you made them think I had nefarious intentions toward Kuroko, and slunk away to this place, where you're not even getting updates on his condition. What is up with you?"

Haizaki sneered at him. "You think I'm welcome in that waiting room?"

"You think I am?" countered Ogiwara. "Those frickin' Miracles think I came here to assassinate my childhood friend. If looks could kill, I'd have melted into an incinerated puddle right on one of those waiting room chairs."

"An incinerated puddle."

"Yes." Ogiwara gave a tired smile. "That is what I said."

Haizaki took a drink of coffee. "Why are you here?"

"Here as in this waiting room with you? Or at the hospital in general?" Ogiwara asked. "Nevermind. I'll answer them both. Obviously I'm at the hospital because Kuroko's my friend. My best friend from elementary school. We used to play basketball together every day after school. I'm the only one who can make him laugh. I'm here with you now because I'm tired of being glared at by all those jerks who think they're his friends up there. Just breathing the same air as them makes me feel like I'm turning into a hypocritical slimeball, like the lot of them are. This is all their fault."

Haizaki's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm not arguing with you, but how do you figure that?"

"You're joking, right?" asked Ogiwara. "Hey Generation of Miracles! How does it feel?"

The sneer returned to Haizaki's face. "Yeah. It's all their fault."

"The only reason Kuroko was targeted was because of them," Ogiwara said. "Whoever did this wouldn't have looked twice at him if not for them. They did this to him with their stupidity. He'd be better off if he never met them."

"A lot of us would, kid."

"You know we're the same age, right?"

Haizaki glared. "I don't care."

Ogiwara shrugged. "Well, I figured you of all people deserved an update. You came here to see him. And not out of guilt like they did. Well, maybe they're not here out of guilt alone. They seem to genuinely like him. But that's what caused all this in the first place. At least it's not your fault he's here. So you deserve to know what's going on with Kuroko more than them."

"So how is the little brat?" Haizaki asked. "He still hasn't woken up yet. Has he?"

"He did wake up."

Haizaki stiffened and looked at Ogiwara with narrowed eyes. "And?"

Ogiwara took a deep breath. "Don't freak out, or anything, but he had a seizure."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what happened?"

"Oh. Well, he survived the seizure. I don't think seizures usually kill people. The doctors gave him something to help him sleep, because they say rest is the best thing for him now. But they said he was coherent for a few minutes after the seizure. No, that's not the word she used. Cognitive? Actually, I don't know what that means, but it sounds like coherent, which is good, isn't it?" Ogiwara asked. "But they said he's likely to have some memory damage. Most likely he won't remember the attack. I hope to God he doesn't. They think it's likely he'll be missing at least a whole week, maybe even a month, or more. Damn, I just hope to God he remembers beating Rakuzan."

Haizaki's expression was hard to read. Ogiwara thought he saw some relief in it. That could be because he'd learned Kuroko was coherent or cognitive after his seizure, but Ogiwara wasn't sold on that. Finding out he had a seizure and that he was definitely going to have memory loss would make worry weigh out any relief for most people. The mention of a seizure alone would actually be enough to worry the hell out of just about anyone, but Haizaki hadn't seemed that bothered by it.

"The doctors also said Kuroko's most likely going to have some brain damage," Ogiwara continued. "They can't predict how that's going to turn out. It could just be memory loss. Or it could be something a lot worse, like . . . like him not being able to walk, or move his hands right anymore, or see straight. They won't know until he wakes up again."

Haizaki looked away and drained his cup of coffee down to the dregs.

"This just makes me so mad," Ogiwara said and crushed his own cup of coffee. His own half-full of coffee. Brown liquid splattered all over him. "Ah!"

"You idiot," Haizaki said, scowling, because a few droplets had gotten on him too.

"Sorry," Ogiwara said ruefully. "I think I'm going to go clean up. Then check with the doctors and see if there's anymore news. You finished with your cup?"

Haizaki handed it over without hesitation. He missed the look of glee in Ogiwara's eyes as Ogiwara hurried away.

Aomine was waiting for him, just one step out of the waiting room, out of view in the hallway.

"You heard what I said?" Ogiwara asked, seeing the dark expression on his face. "I guess I should apologize. I didn't believe what I was saying. I had an ulterior motive for saying it."

"That being?" asked Aomine.

Ogiwara pulled out a plastic bag that the woman in the cafeteria had been nice enough to get for him, and put Haizaki's styrofoam coffee cup into into it. "Getting his fingerprints and DNA. I know Kuroko didn't go down without a fight. If nothing else, he'd have tried to scratch whoever he was fighting, just to make sure to get some of their skin cells under his nails."

"Huh? Why?"

"For DNA testing," Ogiwara explained. He looked sidelong at Aomine. "You said you were his best friend in middle school? How can you not know about his obsession with detective novels?"

Aomine looked away. "We didn't talk about much outside of basketball. Our friendship revolved mainly around that."

Ogiwara didn't like Aomine. He didn't like anyone in the Generation of Miracles, per say. After their apology he could respect them a little bit. It wasn't easy to admit you were wrong. But it didn't change the past. They'd done some messed up things. And they had hurt Kuroko too. But if he was honest with himself, he knew Kuroko wouldn't have bothered with them if there was nothing redeeming about them at all. Ogiwara didn't see what that was yet. Maybe he never would. But they'd been important enough to Kuroko for him to try so hard to salvage his friendships with them. And they were here now. That in itself said a lot. So Ogiwara would be civil to them, even if he didn't really like them.

"He called me a couple times, asking for help, when you . . . well, when your friendship started going downhill," said Ogiwara. "He thought more highly of you than anyone else. I know because he almost never called me. He preferred texting."

Aomine's gaze lightened a little. "Yeah, I know. I can count the number of times he's ever called me on one hand."

"He's always been quiet. The only thing I could ever get him to say more than a few sentences about were his books. He can surprisingly turn into a chatterbox when he starts talking about forensics and criminal proceedings and stuff."

Ogiwara wondered why he had to say this to Aomine, if the teen had been Kuroko's best friend in middle school. Shouldn't he know it already? But he supposed that Aomine's friendship with Kuroko had been different than his own. And that made sense. Kuroko hadn't replaced him. Friends couldn't be replaced.

* * *

Kuroko opened his eyes. A white ceiling nearly blinded him and he flinched, closing them again.

Where . . . he started to wonder, but then the answer came to him. He was in a hospital.

He was in a little pain, but it wasn't too bad, he realized when he concentrated on what injuries he might have. He opened his eyes again, more carefully then before, and tried to catalogue his injuries. It looked like a lot of bruises, some cuts, and maybe a broken arm? But thankfully it had already been set while he was sleeping. He was spared from having to go through that.

His thoughts were hazy when he tried to remember things. Had he really heard Ogiwara? Or had that been a dream? And he didn't know what had happened for him to end up here. Was he hit by a car? Hurt on the court? No, it couldn't be that. He wouldn't get cuts from a basketball related injury.

The last thing he could consciously remember was being at school. More specifically, basketball practice on Friday. Everyone was there, even though they technically had the day off. Even Kiyoshi who would be having surgery on his leg soon.

How long ago had that day been? Kuroko hoped it hadn't been too long. He didn't want to miss Kiyoshi's going away party.

"Oh, you're awake."

Kuroko looked up and saw a nurse smiling at him. "Y-yes."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"W-well e-enough." It was hard to talk. There was some kind of oxygen mask on his mouth, muffling his words. At least the tubes had been taken out of his throat. Wait, what tubes? But he was pretty sure he did have tubes in his throat at one point.

In his mind he saw Aomine's expression go from furious to shocked to happy and excited in less than a second, and Kise grinning through his tears. Then he could see fear cover both their faces and Akashi . . . Akashi was . . . He couldn't remember, but Akashi had definitely been there. How long ago was that?

"Wait just a minute, alright? I'm getting a doctor."

Kuroko had nothing else that he could do, so he obeyed the nurse's instructions. True to her word, a doctor entered moments later.

"Hello. I need to ask you some questions if you're feeling up to it?"

"C-can I take this m-mask off?"

"Please leave it on for now, alright?"

"A-alright."

"Can you answer some questions for me?"

"Yes."

"Good. First. Do you know who you are?"

"K-kuroko Tetsuya," he answered.

"And do you know your parents' names?"

He gave their names.

"Now what about your older brother's name?"

Kuroko stared.

"Do you know your brother's name, Kuroko-kun?"

"I . . . I . . ."

He had a brother?

"I d-don't . . . K-k-kiyoshi? No, I mean T-teppei?"

The doctor frowned. "I'm sorry. That's not right."

"Uh . . . uhm . . ." He said the next name that came to his mind when he thought about who might be his brother. "I-izuki?"

The doctor shook his head.

"Uhm . . . Y-you're sure it's not T-teppei?"

"I'm sorry. No."

"H-hyuga?"

"You don't remember, do you?"

Kuroko lowered his gaze feeling his eyes burn. He'd forgotten something important. Something he should never have forgotten.

"Let's move on for now. We can come back to that, alright Kuroko-kun?"

"Y-yes."

The doctor continued asking questions. Kuroko heard himself giving mechanical answers for what year he believed it was, who the current prime minister was, the month, what school he attended now, what middle school and elementary school he used to attend, and so on. But he didn't really stop to think about any of his answers. He couldn't think about anything else except what he was missing.

How could I forget my brother?

His chest felt painfully tight and suddenly the doctor's words weren't making as much sense. It was like he was talking way too slowly. Kuroko stared at him dumbly. Then the world started to shake.

Earthquake? Kuroko wondered, but then fireworks started going off inside his head and everything started turning black. His consciousness was rapidly fading, but that didn't keep him from feeling an overwhelming sense of fear right before everything went dark.

* * *

"Kuroko-kun? Can you hear me?"

What?

Kuroko blinked. It was light again. And the world had stopped shaking. And the doctor was talking at normal speed.

"W-wh-a ha . . . p-pend?" he slurred.

"I'm afraid you had a seizure," the doctor told him.

"S-seizure?"

"Yes."

"W-wha . . ."

"How are you feeling?"

"I n-never had one b-before."

"You suffered traumatic damage to your brain. I believe that has caused you to develop epilepsy."

Kuroko took a moment to absorb this. He had a general idea of what epilepsy was. He didn't know a whole lot about it, but he'd read about some people who'd had it. They'd lived pretty ordinary lives, that weren't dictated by their condition. So it would be alright, Kuroko decided. He could adapt to live with it. Just as long as one condition remained the same. "C-can I s-still play basketball?"

The doctor smiled. "Yes. Not immediately, but once you're back on your feet, you should be able to play basketball just fine again."

"G-good. Are . . . is anyone h-here? Anyone I know?"

"Yes." The doctor's smile grew warmer. "You have a lot of people waiting for you in the waiting room. There are lots of people who've been very worried about you."

"Can I please s-see them?" Kuroko had an odd feeling in his chest. He was forgetting something, he knew. Something that had been happening right before he had a seizure. He didn't know what, he just knew he didn't want to be alone.

"I'll allow it. But only after we finish evaluating your condition, alright?"

After Kuroko agreed he was subjected to many more questions and a few physical and mental tests. Nothing too hard. Wiggling his toes, touching each of his fingertips to his thumb on each hand, touching his nose with each hand, and bending each knee. Then solving a few easy math problems and puzzles. All in all, it felt like a waste of time to Kuroko. And it was tiring. Kuroko felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy in the middle of a stupid test where he had to look at pictures of random things and identify them. Yes, he knew what a cat was, thank you. What did this have to do with anything?

"I w-want to see my friends," he said stubbornly.

"Alright, but in a few –"

"I want to s-see them now." Kuroko could barely keep his eyes open now and knew he hadn't communicated it very effectively, but he wanted to see his friends. He was tired of these stupid tests.

"Very well. I'll go get them for you, Kuroko-kun," the doctor said. He put down his cards but instead of going out the door to get Kuroko's friends, he went to Kuroko's IV.

"W-what are you going?" asked Kuroko.

"Just giving you something to keep you calm while your friends are here. Nothing to worry about, Kuroko-kun."

That didn't make sense. But Kuroko was too tired to care.

"A-alright," he muttered and closed his eyes.

"Rest, Kuroko-kun," the doctor said in a warm, soothing voice. "I'm going to get your friends now. They'll be here for you when you open your eyes again."

* * *

(the doctor's not doing anything sinister, FYI. He's just giving Kuroko some sleeping medicine, because sleep is the best thing for him right now. He's going to allow several of Kuroko's friends access to Kuroko's room now so they'll be there for him when he wakes up)

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